>(backward compatibility != moving into new dimension)
>But not sure how that applies in the context of this discussion... perhaps I misspoke.

That was something Michel said, and at this point in the discussion, I was wondering why that would be true.

>My point is that I could take an existing application currently running on a LAN and "transform" it into a web-enabled fat client /server application by simply compiling my BOs into web services (along with a few other modifications to the code on client) This, IMHO, WOULD be a new dimension for a mature application.

That is entirely possible. If you created a stateless component as a VFP class, you could use it in your desktop applications. That class could be compiled as a COM server, and run in MTS or COM+. That class could also be exposed as a web service. That IS the idea!