Jeff..

Except for one point.... development tools by nature are commodities. If VB does not give me what I wan't, I can go to VFP. The converse is true as well. Alternatively, I can go to C++ if I need speed. So, like it or not, you, I, and everyone else *is* in a commoditized labor pool, at least as far as our tools are concerned. What differentiates each of us are the respective skills, strengths and weaknesses we each bring to the table with respect to how we use and implement the tools.

As far as the 3.5 million number, I suspect that number also includes anybody who does VBA and VBScript programming as well. ASFAIK, those folks are included in the VB pool as well. Given the fact that VBA and VB have parity, I don't see the problem with that. Along the same lines, with 3.5 million customers, MS is going to listen. You are going to have the benefit of being at the top of MS's "in-box". Sorry to disagree with you here Jeff, but I would much rather be the recipient of the latest innovations in my dev tool of choice. Then again, because they are commodities, I can, and have at times, made the switch. Today, I consider myself a VS developer, because I use both VB and VFP. I don't fancy myself a VC++ programmer...

Is VFP a boutique product? Maybe. However, I don't see the benefit of it. As far as the community is concerned, VB does have pockets of communities. I don't see the big deal here. To be blunt, when I am engaged in work, and when I pump out invoices to clients, you will not find my saying to myself "Gee, what a great VFP community we have..." Don't get me wrong, the community aspect is nice. However, it is more of a social thing than anything else. When it comes to access to technical resources, VB is at least as good, and perhaps better at times than VFP. Conversely, there are times when VFP technical resources are better than VB's. In the end, it is a total wash. My only point here is to not confuse "community" with "technical resources"

My 2-cents... I could be wrong...


>According to Steve Ballmer, ther are 3.5 Million VB programmers.
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>I don't know about any of you guys, but I suffer from a case of terminal uniqueness and I'd prefer not to be 3.5 million + 1 of anything. I'd prefer not to be a part of a commoditized labor pool.
>
>Ballmer also makes references to the VB Community. Sorry Steve, but 3.5 million represents a city, not a community - a city like Baltimore - a few nice neighborhoods, but mostly slums.
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>But you know what I dislike mostly about VB? The name, "VB", sounds like a disease - like something I got in a Tiajuana CatHouse back in high school.