>I have read your remarks and I also have looked at the job market. You and I have spent conciderable time on this tool but the writing is on the wall.
>
>I personaly have generated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business for Microsoft. I brought in Foxpro into my division of National Defense in Canada back in 1993. Since then, Foxpro has been used to develop 5 systems used throughout the department with literally hundres of users. The fat client / SqlServer setup provides a tremendous bang for the buck.
>
>I think our problem is that Foxpro is too efficient for Microsofts requirements. It cannot ever generate enough money for them. They are in the quantity business.
>
>your truly
>Demetrius

Demetrius,

Microsoft is in the developer tools business, too. If VFP is so great, then a lot of developers should be interested. But even if MS gave VFP away, i.e. "free with your purchase of..." Windows, or VS, or MSDN, or whatever, there's still good reason to think that it could make them plenty of money. You say you've generated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business for Microsoft, and I'll bet that wasn't through sales of VFP itself. The point is that VFP produces far more in indirect sales, because every VFP application firmly entrenches not only the application developer, but the developer's customers and end users in the Windows environment. When you account for those indirect sales, it's not hard to see how promoting VFP makes money for MS.

Mike