David,

>Well, I think I will stick with VFP and begin learning the .Net technology as well. As you said, one key is the overall skills that I obtain from learning good analysis and design techniques. VFP will definitely making me a better programmer in the long run. Something which I can apply across other languages.

A good decision, I think. :-)

>Would MSDE be helpful in learning SQL server?

Yes, although some of the advanced tool interfaces are missing. You might check on the Microsoft SQL Server websites for info on how to get MSDE and the SQL Server Developer Edition, which has the additional tools. However, I don't know all the details of the latest editions.