Actually, MaxFrame has strong n-tier abilities. You can choose to do monolitic or n-tier. You can also take an existing MaxFrame monolithic app and add n-tier features incrementally.

I think that's very flexible.

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>>> You have to remember, though, that Codebook was (is) a free framework. So in that case, you got exactly the support you paid for ;-) Make sure you take a look at Mere Mortals. It's based on Codebook, but it's pretty much been rewritten since then. It's an n-tier framework, has an excellent manual, etc., etc. If you have any specific questions about it, post them in the Mere Mortals section here.
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>>I get the impression that the learning curve tends to be longer than other frameworks.
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> That really depends on the developer and the development environment. If you're used to building n-tier apps, logically separating code, etc., then I don't think you'll have too much difficulty using the framework. If you've only done monolithic apps, then yes, you'll have to relearn some things and get over "bad" habits. You're going to find that regardless of the framework, though. I will tell you this - if you're only interested in doing monolithic apps, don't consider Mere Mortals. You probably won't be happy with it, since it was designed with n-tier architecture in mind. Visual MaxFrame might be a better fit. If you want a strong n-tier framework, you'll be happy with Mere Mortals. Also be sure to take a look at Visual FoxExpress; I don't have direct experience with it (I've only used Maxframe and Mere Mortals, plus Web Connect), but I've heard good things from other developers I trust.
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> You definitely need to decide what is important in a framework up front, then pick the framework that suits you the best. There is a certain amount of "buy-in" that needs to happen with any framework. You will generally need to do things the way the framework wants to, otherwise you'll find yourself coding around it (which misses the point).
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>Download the samples from each vendor, play with the sample applications. That should at least give you a feel for the UI environment. Check out the Wiki comparison. It will at least give you some idea of the types of features in the frameworks (although I'm not convinced that all of the ones listed are that important). Good luck in your search.