>John et.al.
>ya - there's all kinds of opinions about what Microsoft will do - but -
>what can YOU do as a 'technology evangelist' to get the word out and have more developers start using VFP?
>
>Something I looked at several years ago seems to have credence - here's the scenario - let me know your thoughts?
>
>Call up every university in your area that offers a degree in Computer Science.
>Offer to come give a guest lecture for a few hours to the basic CS I and CS II students on Object Oriented Programming. Use VFP as your toolset, and show the basics of
>Polymorphism, Encapsulation, and Inheritance.
>
>Towards the end of your lecture, as the students eyes start to pop out from the ease of use for inheritance :) - mention - this is the VFP IDE - and here's how your school can get it for little cost:
>
>Every teacher can purchase a license for VS 6 EE, and this grants them a 10 user license automatically for use in any computer lab. You can also get VFP 7 at the academic discount in your bookstore, the SKU # from MS is ___________.
>
>AH! Did you guys already do this? Well then - you already have it - it's on CD #1 of the EE CD set.
>----
>Then - ask the instructor for access to the 'better' students - make a marketing campaign to get students in as interns for your firm - show them how to program, give them projects to do. Work with the dean there at that campus for the college intern program with your firm - they need that 3 semester hour credit in their senior year.
>
>After a few semesters of this - you will find that there is a larger set of skilled developers in YOUR area that WANT to use VFP because YOU showed them what to do with it.
>
>-----
>Ranting and Raving is COOL - I don't suggest anyone stop - but I am suggesting you do get out in your community and DO something there. Without active involvement in presentation and evangelism at the small group level - the toolset will die from a lack of new developers demanding the IDE. Imagine if you 'converted' 10 students a semester - after 3 semesters you have 30 developers who WANT to use the product and have the skills to do so.
>OK - enough of my 2 cents - I sense the conversion rate will kill me, eventually.
>
>mondo regards, JVP!!! [and et.al.]

Your suggestion do not work.
As former university professor I do the same. Create a large group of VFP programmers.
The best of them work for me. Look at tournament webpage.
But now there are not project for them.
Microsoft pushes clients to .Net.
For them VFP become nice tools with great possibility, but it is out of MIS strategies.