What is the difference between these 2 Autodesk programs, Ma

[John]

I need to know what the differences and simularities of these two Autodesk products are, Maya and 3ds Max how do they compare?

[Meredith]

User interface and the style of how it is used. Go with maya, its mroe widely used and easier to learn. I use it professionaly myself.

[Charles]

It gets worse, SoftImage XSI is also by Autodesk now...
In my opinion 3ds Max is much easier to learn.
Maya is more geared for large studios that create their own tools, and much less intuitive to learn and use.