John:

IMO, anyone who ascribes "evil" intentions to Microsoft, fails to account for the fact that Microsoft is so out of touch with it's own products, that they can't even get a good conspiracy off the ground.

The people who read product comparisions or lists as the one under discussion, are often high level decision makers who pick development platforms for their companies or decide what software an independent developer can solutions in. When you get a client that says, "I want an app that does xxxxxx. What will it cost me up front? What are my on going support costs? How reliable is your solution?", keep them happy. Many clients want to define the development platform becuase of what some "expert" told them. (The "Is VFP dead" threads started by comments by MS reps at corporate meetings or conferences of people who get to decide things they are incapable of making "good" about.

Sorry for the vitriol, but I've been at this too long (16 years), and heard the "If you don't program in Pascal,C,C++, VB, whatever"