Allan,

>>
>>Well, look..
>>
>>Here's how I see this.
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>>1) The product will continue.
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>>2) The product will not continue.
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>>With or without the marketing.
>>
>>I dare say that the folks at Microsoft knows our thoughts and feelings here, don't you think? ANd, just to make sure you know, I'd like to see more monies spent on real marketing. <g>
>>
>>Now, do you see any other choices? If you do, I'd very much like to know what they are.
>>
>>Ok.. If you can accept that then the next question that (in both cases) I'd like to have you answer if you dould is this:
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>>What are you going to do to respond to this?
>>
>>All I'm really interested in is the simple answer to that question. I'd like to know.
>
>Doug,
>
>Respond to what? The fact that Foxpro will continue or not continue - with or without the marketing? Is that what you want me to respond to?


I was curious as to what you would do if you took either position, and why.

If you believe FoxPro is fading (you haven't said?) what are you going to do about it?

If you believe FoxPro is not fading (you haven't said?) what are you going to do about it?

Write letters? Holler? Go learn "X"? (what would "X" be by the way?) and so forth..

I'm just curious what all the frustrated people out there are going to do other than telling everyone else that they are frustrated. After a certain point in time what good does that accomplish? That's what I'm trying to determine.

Does that make sense?

>
>If so, here's my answer: I don't think it makes a darned bit of difference what I do about it, but here's my little contribution. I will continue to preach that VFP is a viable development tool - very powerful and flexible - and this preaching will be directed to the under/over-educated yahoos who eat all the slop they are fed by the likes of the Gartner Group. I will back this up with the applications that I develop with it. And I will never, ever get tired of having to defend VFP darned near every time it comes up in a conversation with so-called 'experts' who don't know a single thing about it.

No argument there. I have done pretty well with this product.

But, if what you do "doesn't make a darned bit of difference', then why are you doing what you are doing? What gets done by asserting (once again) that you feel that MSFT isn't doing enough marketing? I'm puzzled...


>
>If VFP lives, I'll continue to use it because I think it is an excellent tool - if it doesn't I'll use something else. I think the common emotion throughout this thread is that those of us who use the product know what a powerful tool it is. And we're frustrated that the company that owns it does (in my opinion), a poor job of selling it. Having said that, VFP is Microsoft's product and I guess they can do whatever they want with it.

I understand the frustration but it's been that way since I can remember. I started using Foxbase 1.0 in early 1987 or late 1986. Can't remember. <g> Ever since that point in time the development community has never felt that enough marketing was being done. That's some 15 years! And here we sit, still making $$. <g>


>
>As far as responding to you - all I was doing was responding to your perception that people were panicking. Like I said, I don't see that, I just see folks like me who enjoy making a decent living using this tool that are disappointed that the company that produces and sells this tool seems intent on keeping VFP as its best kept secret. Simple as that. It would be easier to digest if VFP was a weak or inferior product - but I don't think that it is.

Ok.. Maybe panicking isn't as accurate a phrase as it could have been. Let's say expending an awful lot of emotional energy that could (IMO) be better expended in a) perfecting new skills in the case VFP really was going to fade/die/expire or b) expending that energy on their VFP skill set and products and as a result, by deed and example help VFP to continue and as a result pressuring MSFT to pay more attention to the product than some now think they are. IOW, we've been doing this for some 15 years already! <g> Don't you (figuratively - not you personally) think it's about time to just do the work and demonstrate the product;s superiority. No amount of hollering is going to educate the nitwits I'd think....


>
>VFP will, as you said, either live or not live. However, you comment that this will happen "with or without the marketing" is, I think, off base. No matter how good a tool VFP is, if the only people who are aware of this are those of that use it - it has no chance to gain a wider user base. The IT world has been so inundated with DOTNET marketing and hype (have they released Beta 2 yet?) that VFP seems to have been lost in the shuffle.

Well, again.. After some 15 years of "not marketing" the product survives. Could we do more? Sure.. You bet. Should we? Yes, we should. Is the product going to die if we do not? I don't think so - any more than any other older software product has. If the VFP development team hadn't brought the product into the present as a result of features like COM, instantiation, etc then I'd think there would be a valid case to make.

>
>>
>>Not to pick on you
>
>Could have fooled me.

Good grief.. Get over it. I can tell you all day long I had no personal animus but if you insist on having those feeling about all I can say is that I'm comfortable you feel that way - but it's a perfect example of the problem I'd think. People need to think more and realize that their feelings can mislead them. Let's think about this problem - not feel about it...

>
>>1) These folks need me to validate their view so they can feel better about themselves. Ain't going to happen as they should carry their own emotional water.
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>I don't need you or anybody else to validate any of my views. We'll, perhaps my wife from time to time but that is an entirely different story ..

Glad to hear that. Don't misunderstand.. I hold you and the others in my mind with great esteem. I just do not think that the future of FoxPro has anything to do with where I get my sense of self worth. <g> It's something I do because I like doing it. If the product goes away I'll find domething else I like doing and do that. Does that make sense?