>This is a good point - that people who formally purchased VFP - now do so by way of MSDN. I don't know if there is an accurate way of tracking this with any degree of certainty - other than though a survey. As with any survey - you are lucky to get a 1-2% response rate. I don't think there is any question that VFP customers ended up becoming MSDN customers. From MS's standpoint - this is a good thing since it is far better to annually ring the register for $1,500 per license then a few hundred bucks here and there.
>
>Poor sales is a symptom of a bigger problem. The fact is - as far as "pure" VFP apps are concerned - there is no real differentiation between VFP 6, 7 or 8. As I have said before - there was no compelling reason to upgrade to 7. Poor sales is a manifestation of dwindling demand.
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>In the recent past - and going forward - the focus is on the platform. Windows was something that was just there - and you wrote apps to run on the platform. Today - and going forward - the platform is playing a more integral role - and Longhorn is further proof of that.
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>The mantra is clear - the platform drives demand for applications - and the applications in turn drives demand for the platform. As we continue down this path - it is clear to see that since VFP will not support core/new features - it cannot possibly drive the platform - and conversely, the platform will not drive Fox sales.
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>If you think the lines are getting blurred and it is starting to look like 1 product - I think you would be correct. The message clearly seems directed at solutions that can be addressed by the "platform". Whether you specifically implement the solution with VB, C# - or whatever - that is an afterthought. The threshold issue is whether you are in the platform. Today, Fox supports the platform - but clearly - it is not part of the platform. And going forward - it seems clear that Fox will support less and less of the platform as time goes by.
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>IMO, This analogy applies: developing and running Fox apps in windows in a few years will be like developing and running DOS apps in windows today.

I see nothing here I can argue with. I have to wonder if we, in our insistence as developers on having VFP remain outside the platform so that we wouldn't lose the data processing capabilities of the product, didn't end up cutting off our noses to spite our faces in the long run.

On the other hand, without those specific data handling capabilities, what would VFP be?

Alan