Well Maxxxmodelz, you bring up some very interesting business points and if I think about my profession (non-CG), your comments "eventually having their companies bought and their software used as mere plugins under different names by the major 3D companies" is pretty accurate. I have seen many of the bigger companies in my profession buy up the smaller ones to either integrate it into their product line to enhance their already existing ones or, they simply kill them off (buy out the competition and bury it, literally). Perhaps Siggraph will give us a glimpse into the future.