I recall Ashton Tate and the attitude that company had towards third party products. You had to be licensed to sell your product and paid Ashton Tate. If Ashton Tate liked what you created and were selling they would include a free copy with the next upgrade to dBase. Upgrades (maintenance, etc.) occurred several times a year. This could put you out of business! So in the case of Microsoft and VFP, I suggest a similar approach. Then companies like Xitech will go away – fast!

Ashton-Tate is doing well these days I suppose! A thriving 3rd party market is a major bonus for the VFP community and I don't think anyone should recommend emulating AT's business practices. Yea it cost more than if everything was in VFP, but I think you would lose a lot. XiTech is perfoming a valuable service, even if their encytption products don't protect you from the more serious criminals.

Kevin