Hi Gary,

SNIP
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>Re-read John. I said "there is plenty of scope for a vibrant healthy Fox", I never said it is. This is surely part of Ken's mandate. A strong VFP with something different to offer is always going to find a niche. Maybe that's where the problem lies. VFP can not be the mainstream tool many would like it to be but, its a great niche player.

I've long not been a fan of this "VFP is a niche product" notion and thought I might use this opportunity to express so.

Given that 90%+ of North American businesses (I don't know about other continents) are in the small to medium size, isn't it really more appropriate to put SQL Server and Oracle and DB2 into the "niche" category? It is they, after all, who play in the 10% crowd.

"Niche" may have a bit of cachet, but it has other implications that make it less than desireable, at least in my opinion. Like think 'small', think 'shrinking', think 'out of the mainstream', think 'legacy style'.

MS may wish to view VFP as playing in a niche market but I don't see why we have to condone (and even promote) that view.

Every time I hear/read VFP and niche in the same sentence I cringe, just like I do every time xBase and ISAM in a discussion of SQL Server. To me these are marketing hyperbole that have little basis in fact. About as much as the earth being flat.
Jim

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SNIP