I was on a golf outing this past weekend with my brother-in-law, his brother, and his cousin. We are all in the computer biz. In fact it is my brother-in-law whi first recommended FPD 2.0 to me. One morning while talking shop I happened to mention VFP and his brother was shocked to hear it is still around, in fact he said they had done some great things with it 10 yrs ago but thought Fox software was out of business and that no one was using it.

If it sounds dead, looks dead, smells dead, it is dead. (it a good thing I didn't step on it!)

Glenn

>Yesterday ran into my first 'lost soul'. Most people I deal with seem to not care what development environment I use, so long as the final product runs on their systems and does the required job. While demoing my probation and parole program at a trade show yesterday, I got into an extended conversation with a gentleman who does some database and reporting work, althouhg it's not his primary job. When I mentioned that my application was written in Microsoft Visual Foxpro, he did a double take. He was under the impression that Fox was still an independent entity, not a Microsoft product. He was also amazed that it is now a 32-bit Windows tool. His perception was stuck at 10+ years ago with FPD and Fox Software. Around that time, he migrated to Windows and started using Access, and continues to do so.
> Will he switch? Doubtful, but at least he is now aware of where Foxpro has gone. I just wonder how many more like him there are out there, unaware that there is another tool available. I'm not expecting to drive down the road and see a billboard every 5 miles proclaiming the greatness that is VFP; that is simply foolish, the target audience isn't large enough to justify that. But how about a decent ad once in a while in a non-Fox specific journal? Pay for it simply by reducing the number of ads in the Fox-specific journals - after all, if I am reading a single product journal, one can reasonably assume that I already know about said tool and am using it. Or if I am that sophisticated as to peruse a product-specific journal to learn about a product, articles on design successes and so forth will do far more to win me over than a typical marketing ad.
> Which brings up another potential source of new market share - sure, we have a registry of Foxpro apps here and on the wiki, but who knows about it? That's great that we all know what some of our fellow programmers are up to with the product, how about getting the word out to non-FP people? Design wins are probably one of the most effective way to win over skeptical management - so shout it to the world, let them see that hey, this IS a viable product. Free or low-cost advertising - some strategic link placement. It can't hurt.
> I have to say, I am in the camp that believes that simply having existing users upgrade can and will not sustain the product. Right or wrong, the PERCEPTION is that the only reason we keep seeing new upgrades is the dedication and drive of the Fox Team. Sure, there would be a loud complaint heard should the decision come down to phase out the product, but that voice would be a drop in the bucket compared to the installed base of the cash cows Windows and Office. The potential damage? Small. The potential costs savings? Probably larger. So why doesn't it happen? Because there are still enough people inside willing to make sure it doesn't.