>I know that frustration... drove me to jump ship and go independent.

Same here, kiddo.

>... since I dont collect a regular paycheck anymore, I consider this my own personal mutated form of job security < smirk >

LOL. Talking about mutated - old Fox code bases are beginning to fall into COBOL-type maintenance nitches. We'll always have a job!!!

>But do you really think that "lag" will work it's way up the ladder to M$???.

I think there will always be a lag. The real challenge is for MS, IT Managers, and developers to manage the lag. Some technology implimentations may never hit mainstream because of the lag - ADO hasn't, but ADO+ may, and XML is here to stay.

For MS to stay alive, they have to keep churning out the technologies. The Internet opened up a whole new game. Can you imagine what the state of things would be if there was no Internet? MS is right on track with their .NET strategy - it's a huge avenue for growth. MS has always been a growth company. The last thing they want is to start paying shareholder dividends.