>As I come kicking and screaming into the current century, is is possible to generate text messages to users through a VFP app?

Doyle,
I have been sending text messages (SMS) from within my VFP 9 app for over a year now. I spent months researching before I was able to find the right stuff build a system that works really great. Bottom line, the first thing you need to understand is you Must use a 3rd party in order to be able to send text messages to cell phones unless all the phones are on the same system. Not just the same carrier but in the same area. I found a wide range of pricing and features. One wanted $80 a month plus more for each message. By far the best on both pricing and ease of programming is CDYNE http://www.cdyne.com/api/phone/sms/ At $11.00 a month plus one cent a message they can't be beat. The documentation is thorough and very clear.

I set it up using a combination of some simple PHP scripts on a 1and1.com web site at $9 a month and FTP from West Wind to upload, download with the web site. About $100 or less from http://www.west-wind.com/ . It might sound complex but was not too bad. I use the heck out of TEXT ... ENDTEXT to generate all the messaging. If you need help let me know.