So, it seems that we agree that Povray is a good free program. It's
always good to see exactly what you're doing and to be able to experiment.
Such is the design. The question is, what are people doing with it?
Apparently, my hunch has been correct. People that use the program are
artists--or at least that's what they call themselves--who like the idea of
creating seemingly photorealistic if not surrealistic scenes. People also
use the program to acquaint themselves with ray tracing and to "have fun"
from successfully completing "projects," or even from competing in IRTC.
   What surprises me is the ammount of extra knowledge these artists must
obtain: both computer knowledge--for editing INI files for example--and
mathematical knowledge--for working with normalized time in animations, just
to create a picture.
   Then, let me put it this way. Does anyone make good money using Povray.
I'm talking computer art expos, product design teams, architects, city
planning, anything of the sort. I haven't heard anyone say a thing about the
usefullness of Povray. People have been talking of it as if it were a sport,
not a tool. You have fun, exercise your mind, get your feet wet, join an
international phenomenon, etc. That's something you say about scooters or
Pokemon, not a screwdriver or a calculator.

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