I personally prefer Maya, I hardly know squat about modelling in max, only unwrapping.
And yes, max = 3D Studio Max, the best version should be the latest, which is 9 I think. I think it's only a matter of personal prefernce which program you prefer. I started out with Maya and then had a look at Max. I believe that the program you learn first, is the program thats gonna stick with ya
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