Considering getting 4.0, a few questions

[Ihsan's Knife]

I currently have an active, owned license, and I know that sooner or later I'll be forced to update to 4 (end of 3.x's life, etc.) and should probably do it now, while it's still affordable. However, beforehand, I have a few questions.

1. Is there a live demo of the backend or anything? One of the things I liked most about 3.x was the slick and easy backend, and I need to know how this one works.
2. When will 5 be coming out (approximately year or decade would be cool)?
3. Will we be forced to pay the price of a new license when 5 comes out as well?
4. Is there any reason to keep my existing license active if I don't upgrade?
5. I'm aware that this forum is running 4.0. It is also showing itself as very, very buggy. What's up with that?

[Dismounted]

1. Is there a live demo of the backend or anything? One of the things I liked most about 3.x was the slick and easy backend, and I need to know how this one works.

You'll be pleased to know that the Admin CP has not changed between vBulletin 3 and vBulletin 4.0. However, it should be overhauled as the codebase is refactored over the vBulletin 4 series.

2. When will 5 be coming out (approximately year or decade would be cool)?

Ray Morgan (General Manager of vBulletin) has mentioned that we would be "knocking on the door of vBulletin 5 in two years". How you interpret that is your choice.

3. Will we be forced to pay the price of a new license when 5 comes out as well?

If you wish to upgrade to vBulletin 5, there will be an upgrade fee. It won't be the price for an entirely new license though.

4. Is there any reason to keep my existing license active if I don't upgrade?

By existing license you mean an Owned or Leased License? The renewal product for these licenses have been discontinued, and you have the choice of upgrading to a new license.

5. I'm aware that this forum is running 4.0. It is also showing itself as very, very buggy. What's up with that?

Customers wanted to see it, so it was pushed into a live environment earlier than expected. This is a result of that. However, note that this is still an early beta and the style has yet to be 100% set, as well as the many bugs that need to be fixed.

[Ihsan's Knife]

How hard would it be to get a style from vB 3.7.x to work for 4.0?

[Vicros]

Good question, as i myself make vB skins, i would like to know as well, but from what i have seen it shouldnt be too hard.

[cellarius]

It will have to be completely redone.

[Dismounted]

How hard would it be to get a style from vB 3.7.x to work for 4.0?

Depends if the style is a simple recolour, or an actual massively custom style. As you can see, the underlying template code has been completely rewritten in the new CSS-based style. Simple recolours should be much, much easier using the new StyleVar system. A complex style under vBulletin 3 would need to be completely rewritten.