What, first there was complaining about too much new stuff each year without fixing, now there's complaining that there isn't *enough* new stuff and *too much* fixing??
Its a good point about the three-year cycle - they are at the end of the current one so it doesn't make much sense to make big changes. If they follow the previous schedule there should be a major revamp of the core in the next cycle along with a new DWG format, and that is where I expect the big things to come about.
Then why not do a new release every three years and offer an annual updated bag of goodies for the in between years?
Perception in the current market. Other companies are releasing "new" product every year, suddenly AutoCAD looks like its sitting still by comparison. Or even worse, it looks like a really bad, bug-ridden product that is so bad they have to spend three years to get right and can only fix problems in the meantime. Meanwhile the competition is touting "Hey look at all our new stuff!" even if that too is buggy - they just don't advertise it.
Lets face it guys - those who control the majority of purchasing of AutoDesk product are *not* us. They are managers and executives who don't understand the technical side and only talk with us when there is a problem. That is who the product is marketed towards so the marketing has to be trendy, it has to be simple to understand. We are just the ones who have to make it work.
Can any company the size of AutoDesk get away without doing 'major' yearly releases? If so, how?