>>This is totally true and I have called presenters and trainers on this more than once. But if someone like us isn't in the audiance what I said above is the truth and, guaranteed, what happens.
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>And ... when you do it and 800 people turn around and look at you like you're nuts because you are the only one in the audience who believes/knows it and they've been to a dozen other seminars where it is never brought up and they never see it used for demos and all the info they get from MS pushes other tools and on and on and on ...
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>You might as well be making a plug for using Visual FORTRAN for the Amiga ....
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>The "outside in" approach may be OK and help a little, but there needs to be an "inside out" overhaul with MS taking the LEAD to get VFP equal footing, demo presence, etc. at these things.

Oh, I agree, however some times it is usefull. My own personal example is this. I was attending a session on Distributed Applications that only had 10 attendees including myself. After going through all the background info on COM, the instructor gave the spec for a small COM object and told us we could use whatever language we wished to develop it. When walking around to check our progress he was surprised to see me in VFP which also caught everyone else's attention when mentioned. I had to tell them and show them (instructor as well) that VFP could do the job. Since everyone was pretty friendly we all had lunch together during which time I didn't eat much because I was answering a sea of VFP questions. I'm happy to say that at least 10 people went away with a new found appreciation and interest in VFP.

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>As far as marketing budget constraints ... they would be better served to spend EVERY penny of the VFP budget on educating MS instructors, support, sales, consultants, presenters, etc. and getting formal programs in place to integrate VFP into these seminars, conventions, etc. than they would to place Ads anywhere.

Agree completely here. The best place M$ can start and best promote VFP is internally.
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>Ken