Dale,

SNIP
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>Now to the primary reason for this message:
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>During the 20+ years that I’ve been programming, I have never been confronted with a business problem that I couldn’t solve, using my tool of the moment. I have had to tell a client that I’d have to do some research first, but I’ve never had to say my tool can’t do that.
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This is the nub of the whole issue.
Some time ago the phrase "use the best tool for the job" came into being and accepted as axiomatic by many. It was simply a marketing slogan. Even our recently banished colleague, who used to promulgate the phrase incessantly, has admitted to such. Computers gained widespread acceptance and use precisely because they are flexible - able to be adapted to solve a wondrous variety of problems. With few exceptions virtually any business problem can be solved using any programming language.

>Now, because MS has introduced .net, it seems that all I hear is “you need to expand your toolbox”. Well, I don’t need to expand my toolbox. It’s doing exactly what I want it to do, solving my clients problems. Some of my old Clipper Summer 87 programs are still being used! I do want to upgrade them but they’re (clients) happy with what they got.

SUre, but that's the marketing behind the new product and, in this case, one that MS has "bet the company" on. I agree that a whole lot of people have bought into that argument, but I suspect that the number is still far from anything significant. Unlike with long-established products, I bet that its entire 'community' can be counted by individual participation in .NET related forums.
MS is using these people as gunea pigs and the people themselves know this full well and are happy to oblige. A reasonable arrangement by any standard.

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>I believe there are thousands of programmers like me and there are millions of potential clients in the categories we serve.

You've got that 100% correct!

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>Until MS proves to us that another way is better, we are going to continue doing things the way we are doing them now. Why should we waste time and money on .net when we are already getting the job done in a very efficient way using our existing tool (VFP)? I very seldom use the following expression, but, I am from the SHOW-ME state so........SHOW ME!
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>And……..if MS was truly interested in increasing sales of VFP and upgrades, they would find a way. Such as a free trial version. I know it works for me!

I wish they'd find the desire to work at increasing sales too. Since I foresee .NET as needing years yet to be developed into the product that MS itself envisions, my hope is that MS will eventually sense some urgency in keeping developers generally from migrating to non-MS products and start marketing VFP more widely.
In my mind, and for this contingency alone, there is good sense in MS' continuing to develop the VFP feature set.

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>I've been recommending MS products to my clients for years and will continue to do so. But, I don't like what I'm reading between the lines concerning VFP's long term future.

The only OFFICIAL thing that I've heard from MS on the subject is that their plans are to continue to market only to the existing VFP user base. Anything as regards the long term future is speculation. Of course we all, me included, worry at that single statement and I do not like the implications either. But that should more spur us to press for more, not encourage us to run elsewhere. At least that's my take on it.

I look forward to Ken's words when he replies.

cheers