>>We recently lost a sale to a competitor, in part because the IT dept didn't like VFP. We rarely face this attitude with our customer base, but it is still a problem we want to avoid. We are currently working on a SQL Server back-end, which should help a little. But we are wondering what would have happened if we could say, "Yeah, but we can run on a Linux back-end." Of course, it depends on which group you are talking to, but in general, I think our stock would shoot way up with IT depts. Perhaps to the point where they say: "Cool. You're running on Linux? We really don't care what you run on the client."
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>>I think that most IT depts fall into one of two groups: 1) They want to learn Linux, or 2) They are already using it. Is this the reality? To me, Linux still has a coolness factor, despite the FUD that is spread at times about it. Recent articles in InfoWorld and the like tell me that Linux currently garners more attention on the IT side of things than on the business application developer side.
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>>So, we are thinking that quite a few IT guys will salivate for the opportunity to use Linux in a production environment, and maybe counteract the negative connotation that follows VFP. Thoughts?
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>Well, you would also need to look at a new back-end database as well.

Of the many options let me recommend PostgreSQL. It is very similar to Oracle in many ways, but easier to install and pretty much tunes itself.
JLK