Hi maunaloa,
what your are experencing is actually not a license issue but just a normal ArcScene limitation! As a matter of fact ArcScene does not support Terrain-files but just TIN-files. Try opening a TIN and everything will be perfect. If you want to visualize a terrain-file in 3D, open ArcGlobe and try it there. This will work.
Here some quote from the ESRI-dektop help: "By default, terrain layers cannot be directly displayed or used as elevation sources in ArcScene. If you want to consume terrain data in ArcScene, you will need to export your area of interest to either a raster or a TIN."
Ok have a lot of fun! :grin: