>>...Let's just say that I'm optimistic...
>
>Ok I got my fingers crossed. :-)

Keep them that way. Remember, the VB'ers are taught that VB is the front end for SQL server. No mention is made of VFP, and no VFP drivers are included in the MDAC any more. VFP is no longer a part of Visual Studio, so where is the window that the VB people can look out of (or in to) to see VFP?

VFP is continued probably because of the loyalty of us historical (not I did not say "older" <g>) developers which I think are still a formidable force, and who still buy the product. In my case, I continue to do so, because compared to the Oracle development environment (kludgy, steep learning curve, limited data types, not developer friendly, VERY expensive in terms of licensing costs, and hardware required)VFP remains a slick rapid application development environment. And it continues to improve over time, allowing for even faster development times, and thus resulting in functionality at a far lower cost. (even if the developer is making the big bucks)

It is too bad that the perceptions of the front offices, perceive that an Oracle Database, with a Macromedia java based Cold Fusion Front end is better, and more stable than VFP plus a third party product. With undue consideration being given to Microsoft Access as an alternative. Web apps are hot at present and the Universal Thread is a prime example of a Fox App that runs on the web.
Sun is marketing Java very strongly, and is supported by macromedia as well.

VFP has always been very capable of handling the single user, stand alone application and database, and also excels in the multi-user environment too.
Its built-in SEEK/INDEXSEEK functions are still faster that any version of SQL in use today and is much simpler to code. (did I say code?, shoot, the Oracle developer/designer 2000 environment will not even let the developer see the code, much less customize it for efficiency) The same applies to the Java developer as well. How do you spell code bloat?

Having made a major transition to supporting the Oracle environment for web based applications, I still feel a strong affinity for my VFP, and will continue to buy the product, compare its functionality with the competition, and laud its strengths to anyone who will listen. And who knows, I may yet create that "killer application." The fat lady has not sung yet, that is for sure.