I posted a week ago asking for comments about Sibelius and Finale
but haven't gotton any responses that distinguish
these two products very much.  

I know this has been a topic of perennial discussion,  in which 
the standard conclusions seem to be:  
  1. Sibelius is much easier to use
  2. Finale might have an edge in capabilities.  but it is not
     very dramatic.
  3. Finale is used by more people,  including most of the old timers,
     but Sibelius is gaining in popularity.

However,  all of the discussion I've been able to find is for prior
versions of the software.  Since I don't plan on traveling backwards
in time,  I personally don't care that much if Sibelius was easier to
use 5 years ago.  Does anyone have any comments on how the
current versions (Sibelius 3 and Finale 2004) compare?

From trying out the demos and a smattering of other information,  I've
come to the following tentative conclusions:
  1.  Finale has copied,  and in some cases improved upon,  many
      of Sibelius' ease of use features.  The two programs are now
      comparable in ease of use,  and Finale may have the edge in
      some ways.
  2.  Finale still has a slight edge in capabilities.
  3.  I don't know if Finale or Sibelius is more popular.
  4.  Finale's midi playback is superior.

I've decided for now to go with Finale.  I'd be happy if anyone who
knows better can convince me otherwise.