Hi Michel,

It just so happens that I was also at that conference, but I have
the letter. It follows below.



An Open Letter to the FoxPro Community

Recently there has been speculation as to Microsoft s commitment to Visual
FoxPro and the FoxPro product line. Some recent articles stated incorrectly
that the next release of FoxPro will be the last. Given these inaccuracies
and resulting confusion, we want to clarify Microsoft s position on FoxPro
today and in the future.

First and foremost, your investment in FoxPro is safe. Microsoft will bring
your applications and FoxPro technology forward. Currently, Microsoft just
put the finishing touches on Visual FoxPro for the Power Macintosh. The
product team is also hard at work on the next version, Visual FoxPro 5.0 for
Windows. After version 5.0 ships, Microsoft will start working on the next
release of Visual FoxPro. Visual FoxPro will remain a great tool for
high-end database development today and in the future.

Visual FoxPro 3.0 for the Power Macintosh has been released to manufacturing.
This product has full cross-platform compatibility with Visual FoxPro 3.0
for Windows. This release brings object-oriented programming to the Power
Macintosh while continuing to be a performance leader. All of the great
technology that users applaud in Visual FoxPro for Windows is now available
on the Power Macintosh.

Visual FoxPro 5.0 for Windows will be released in Fall 1996. This version
will have powerful connectivity features, the ability to create OLE
automation servers, full support for ActiveX controls, an enhanced
development environment, a smaller footprint, and greater performance.

After Visual FoxPro 5.0 ships this fall, the FoxPro team, in conjunction with
our other development tool groups, will be working on better integration of
our development tools. The integration will allow users to leverage common
technologies across all of our development tools. An example of this will
be the use of the FoxPro engine technology in other Microsoft development
products such as Visual Basic. This is a strategy that we have talked about
and outlined for the past several years. You will star