I've been using EQ for a long time too - since EQ5. One thing I like about their upgrades is that you don't have to do them - you can keep using the program and upgrade only if you are looking for the features of the new versions. Their upgrades aren't so frequent you feel you ever waste your money. I also like their online community - they have a great design forum and 'mystery quilts' that are done as training excercises - and they make them interesting with stories to go with them. Bonus 'like' - vendors like Connecting Threads have downloads available for their fabrics so you can build your project with fabric that you can actually buy!
In program usage - I love being able to print the block patterns and it does a nice job of calculating fabric requirements!