>Those hundreds of thousands of business will not migrate away from Windows just because VFP is no longer updated. A very small number may migrate. There is nothing that says those businesses can't run .Net-based apps talking to SQL Express for the same cost as a VFP app.

Of couse they can run NET based apps, just as they run VFP apps.
They mostly don't care if it is NET or VFP for as long as it does the job.

Question is can they afford migration, and should they really be forced
into and paying for it. (Not to even mention operational turbulence that
large software conversions impose)
Eula sort of safeguard migration to another OS which meny of them
would gladly accept rather then having to pay arm and the leg for total custom software refurbishment, and having to go trough multi-year (re)implementation and fine-tunning process all over again.

So by imposing eula prohibiting migration to another OS on VFP as tool and then discontinuing it, those who are getting financially & operationally hurt are actually - end customers.

Problem is that VFP guys are very often in front line, having face right in front of those customers.
Long before apps start breaking because of imminenet windows OS changes, they will be in a very hot spot, having to explain customers that they have to eventually abandon stable perfectly working systems on perfectly stable OS. (XP rocks!)
Now, we all know that runnung VFP apps on Linux is totally viable from technical standpoint, just as we know that there is legal clause prohibiting it. This kinda puts people in very bad spot, having to eighter explain the truth, or play MS salesmen telling customer 'We got to convert (rewrite) because...'

From commercial developer standpoint, every software refurbishment means more work/money, so VFP people will adopt to one tool or another and still have upper hand, in terms of having tons of business analysis stockpiled under their belt and direct access to those very customers. Problem is that VFP people are not known for having 'thick salesman skin' and very often have honest and meny times very close bussinnes relationship with their customers. This also hurt them.

As I said before; Market usually corrects every imbalance. Every (negative) impact causes bounce-back. Vista felt this already.

Give heavily dissapointed VFP guys single viable tool that offers solid conversion of their apps to run under Linux (No eula can protect from recompiling source into some other tool!) and we can talk about 'Cost of VFP' in a couple of years from then :)

Cheers and have great weekend :)
Sergio