>>>>>What was the gift and message?
>>>>
>>>>Linux OS CD's and a penguin that emblazoned with "Fox is everywhere".
>>>
>>>That is bizarre.
>>
>>It was a surprise, that's for sure. However, now that I have the CD's - I actually plan on installing the OS on a spare P.C. to see if I can learn something about Linux. But, I doubt that VFP can run on it - does anyone know the answer?
>>
>>I don't have the CD's with me right now, but there was a message on each CD explaining why it was given to the attendees.
>
>Hell, I thought you were joking. Is that realy what is on the CD?

We gave out a set of three CDs that included RedHat 8.0, OpenOffice.org and Evolution.

OpenOffice.org is comparable to Microsoft Office. It has a word processor, a spreadsheet, a presentation manager (like PowerPoint), and some other tools. Evolution is an email client comparable to Outlook.

RedHat 8.0 is their latest distribution and it's awesome. I have customers asking me about it left and right, so I decided I needed to learn more about it myself.

We've been using OpenOffice.org since the beginning of July and have produced our last three books with it. I trade files with dozens of people who use Word 97, Word 2000 and Word XP, and the files go back and forth transparently. Not a single person has ever suspected that I wasn't also using Microsoft Word, and we use all sorts of features - headers and footers, annotations, footnotes, embedded images, etc. It's not perfect, but name the piece of software that is. Several presenters at GLGDW (including me) using OpenOffice.org instead of PowerPoint and no one could tell the difference. OOo runs on Windows, Linux and the Mac, and I use it on both Windows and Linux.

I use Evolution for all my email needs on my Linux box (there's not a Windows version.)

I'm not sure why the negative attitude ("that's bizarre"). As Fox developers, we have to be responsive to our customer's needs, and within the next 12 months, I bet the majority of the folks on the UT will be asked about Fox and Linux.

You can't hide your head in the sand. You needed to know about Novell in the early 90s (and I bet a fair number of you still do). You have to connect to Exchange and Lotus Notes. You need to know about .NET and SQL Server and the WinAPI now. You need to know about generating Adobe PDFs and integrating with Crystal Reports. And you will need to know something about Linux or you're going to be left behind, and your customers are going to go to another Fox developer who has the foresight to expand the reach of their learning.

Fox is Everywhere!

Whil