Craig, I bought Mach3 years ago, it does what I need, everything on my machine is perfectly built and running.
If I had the need to re-learn, re-setup, re-configure and re-inverst in software as well as in hardware (no LPT..), I certainly would first check how it compares to available alternatives.
This is not to blame ArtSoft. I am and always was a strong proponent for Mach3. Maybe that's why I am a bit unhappy to see that this era is coming to an end.
Uli