Bugaroo - I really like EQ8. I started with EQ7 and never got the hang of it, but EQ8 was so much easier for me to figure out and now I'm able to design whole quilts with it.
The one part I don't like is that it always figures measurements for triangles point to point. I like to use the "easy angle" method of triangles which is where you cut it without all the points. IE - if you have a HST that is UF at 2.5", you cut the strip for the triangle pieces at 2.5" and then when you subcut, you don't include the top point (that you'd cut off anyway). So I'll sometimes change the lines a bit so that the computer will figure out the size I really want, and not the "point to point" measure.