John,

I have now read the balance of the message.
SNIP
>
>While Fox is technically a good product, the business world at large does not see it as being a credible solution for the reasons I enumerate in this post. And, as long as MS continues to push VS .NET and the .NET framework as THE credible solution, what makes anybody think:
>
>1. the course will change or
>2. that anybody or anyone can do anything about it...

You talk prior about Fortune 10 companies. Let's allow that, except for isolated instances, the very large majority of Fortune 1000 (yes, not just 10) companies are not inclined to use VFP.
That still leaves tens of thousands of companies in the U.S., and far more in the rest of the world. These companies do not have the budgets or staff expertise to adopt every latest and greatest technology that is hyped from day-to-day. No doubt most are envious and wish they could, but the more sane among them realize on reflection that being on the "cutting edge" generally is the "bleeding edge" where promise doesn't materialize but havoc and cost surely does.

You claim that there is .NET expertise out there today. Truly, I have a real problem seeing how that could be! I'll grant you that there are many out there who know how to get around in .NET and can deliver specific things in .NET. I don't, though, qualify those capabilities as "expertise".
Much has been written about the paucity of .NET documentation and the quality/accuracy of what documentation there is. Given this situation, how can anyone be accredited with the capability to well and properly exploit the .NET framework???
This thing is so big and it is still growing and this is touted as a major reason for the state of documentation on the subject. Under these circumstances how can anyone possibly have what it takes to properly exploit .NET???
I see anyone delivering .NET today as delivering, at best, a Wright Flyer while the marketing suggests that .NET can deliver a Concorde/747 class of plane.
It may happen one day, but first .NET will have to stabilize, then it will have to be documented, then best-practises will have to be discovered and documented. Then, and only then, can .NET have any chance at all of delivering on its promise.

Jim

SNIP