>MS could promote VFP as the homogenous 1- and 2-tier tool, thereby (finally) identifying a real niche for VFP and allowing MS to draw a clear line between desktop tools and .Net tools. This may be good for all concerned.

John,

I don't see MS promoting VFP in this way. MSDE/SQL Server is MS's data store for the future. This way they sell more licenses or at the very least have a customer positioned to buy licenses. Heck, even Access runs on top of MSDE. That means 1-tier is gone. And VB/SQL Server has been MS's 2-tier solution for the past five years. Just my 2 cents.