Joe,
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>>Normally, I don't comment on stuff like this. However, it's Friday and it's been a rough week and I'm in a nasty mood.
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>Heh, well, the meeting yesterday where I heard about all this left my mood a bit dour as well...

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to vent as I did below.< g >

>>It's pure and utter nonsense. What's color were this guys eyes? Brown? They should be because he's full of it up to his eyebrows at least. He's suffering from flatulence of mouth.
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>Well, I don't think anyone was purposefully misleading us, other than to maybe try to direct our attention more to .NET than VFP? That is pure speulcation on my part...

Nobody, not even Microsoft itself, knows if .NET is going to fly. It could turn out to be another "Microsoft Bob". I doubt it, however. Whether or not it gains the acceptance of the previous versions of Visual Studio is another question entirely.

>>They're trying to sell you a bill of goods. First, the 18 month business is pure speculation. It sounds like a perversion of Moore's Law in some way's.
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>Well, the 18 month thing wasn't that important, and at least sounded reasonable. Whether that time is shorter or longer wouldn't change that fact that we would be SOL if 8.0 is the last version...

True, but you wouldn't be SOL until four or five years from now.

>>Second, these supposed "Microsoft officials" either violated an NDA, aren't in any position to know, or are simply speculating themselves. If it's the former, how trustworthy and reliable source of information would you consider them? The same question would apply to the latter two possibilities.
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>I agree, and at this point I don't trust the source. But I am not the guy making the decisions. All I need is someone of better authority than the guys they talked to to say yes, there will be VFP after 8.0, or it is at least as likely as continued support of .NET (because I know nothing can be truly guaranteed).

Joe, unfortunately, I doubt if anyone authoritative can give you a statement like that. It has been, and probably will be, Microsoft's policy not to talk about any future version of any product beyond what's currently being worked on. Some have tried to pervert this policy to support statements that this product or that will be discontinued after the next release.

>>I don't know who said it first. I think I heard it from either Ken Levy or Jim Booth first: "Those who know, can't talk. Those who talk, can't know."
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>An excellent adage...
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>We have been gathering information on VFP such as the Ballmer video and past interviews to support VFP's future. That, in tandem with an authoritative statement from Ken or someone of equal stature, should clear this up. If nothing else, I hope we can help cast a skeptical eye on whoever said VFP 8.0 was going to be the last...
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I hope that Ken does too. However, I'd say that the Ballmer video can represented as Microsoft's "official" position as opposed to the unofficial speculation of others.