>> Why don't you post something regularly to tell us what's happening in VFP world ? Perhaps like YAG is going to do here on the UT for Visual Studio .Net
I do, here on the UT, messages from Microsoft on FoxCentral.net, monthly FoxPro Advisor column which is online for each issue - latest one at
http://www.advisor.com/Articles.nsf/aid/LEVYK04>> Some time ago you said that you wanted all the community to help. How can we help if we don't know what you're doing to promote VFP. Perhaps you could tip us on how to help you promote it.
The number one way for the community to help is for people to help convince other VFP developers who have not upgraded to VFP 7.0 yet to do so.
>> What is the overall plan to make VFP have a stronger place in the IT world. Because that's what is at stakes here. It's not just a matter of keeping the place occupied so far but to make it bigger. What do you do to make that happen?
This is not likely to ever change significantly, but I do plan and hope to have more mentions about Toledo when it is released than was with VFP 7.0 since more planning and effort is going into Toledo, already started.
>> Where will VFP be in 5 years. If you tell me you don't know then does that mean that I'd better switch right away to Visual Studio .NET because I'd bet that this will be here in 5 years.
Microsoft doesn't comment on future projections like that, not for any product. What we talk about is what is being worked on now, and what is being focused on now is Toledo (next version of VFP).
>> I saw presentations from VFP gurus at our user's group. Most of them told us that VFP was still the best. How much should we believe from what they said. Perhaps they're only trying to protect their status. Who wants to hire a guru if he's alone in his field?
These really are not questions for me to answer.
>> Why do we see so often here or in ProFox threads questioning the eventual death of VFP. Perhaps MS should do something about this. Even if not true those will hurt the VFP market. Please don't refer me to the video of Mr. Ballmer. The VFP community doesn't need videos or excuses it needs actions.
People say or think what they want. What I have done and will continue to do is educate people with facts and put out information to help clarify issues when they exist.
>>I read that Gartner once said bad things about VFP. You said that you met them. Why can't they say something good about VFP now? If many businesses are influenced by that group how do you think they react whey they don't see them comment on new releases of VFP. Perhaps they don't consider VFP as a good product because they probably think if Gartner didn't say anything about new releases it's probably because it's not better that it was when they reviewed it the last time.
You should not be asking me that, you should be asking Gartner. I did spend significant time talking to Gartner and educating them about VFP 7.0, and they do know a new version of VFP is being developed at Microsoft. You can ask Gartner or others why they do or don't do what they do, it is not controlled by Microsoft.
>> Why is it that we still see a lot of bad things coming from MS regarding VFP. Just tonight I read another thread (#634712) and I couldn't believe that you weren't able to fix those apparently voluntary omissions. How do you solve those? Isn't there a way to fix those globally?
There are some at Microsoft who are not educated enough about VFP and those efforts are ongoing, and I think they are much less than before, but they do happen and the best solution when it does is to send me email directly with the information with names so I can educate people as needed. Lately VFP is mentioned in various newsletters within Microsoft more and more which helps towards these issues also.
>> We have'nt heard much in the last months as to what's happening in the VFP world. You know that many members of the VFP community are an insecure bunch (rejections frequently causes that behavior <g>). Please tell us that better days are coming.
VFP 7.0 was released about 8 months ago, we released SP1 last January, so the bigger news items are yet to come, usually around events. Take for example the EssentialFox conference and the keynote summary here on the UT, many new announcements were made, new features in Toledo shown for the first time, etc. If you are really interested in news, excitement, information, fun, education, etc., then sign up for VFP DevCon 2002, it will be 'far' more excited and educational compared to the last several years, lots of new information then. If you have more questions, let me know.
