>Hi Bob.
>
>Amen, Marcia! My VFP library is one of my most valuable resources.
>
>Mine too < s >. I think that I own every book that Whil ever published. It is a shame that more people do not realize that the $50 they invest in a book will save them twice that amount if they find just one valuable thing that can save them at least an hour or two of development time.
>
>Personally, I have never understood the attitude of people who do not see the value of sunscribing to magazines, attending conferences or buying books. I know that even if Russ does not accept my session proposals for EFox, I will pay my money and go as an attendee. I would have done the same at WhilFest last year too. It is about more than just learning some new techniques and getting some new ideas. It is about showing my support for the VFP community.

Well now the picking up one or two books to get you going..that I can understand. Subscribing to a coupla magazines - that I can see too - (although paying like 129 bucks for a dozen issues of a 16 page one seems kinda stupid) - but the conferences? Ok I've been to one DevCon - and it was years ago & I'd only been in foxpro for about 6 months at the time so it was worth it because I learned a lot (how to use views for example) - heck I think VFP5 had just come out. But really - figure its going to cost you a week's worth of billing, plus the cost of the conference itself - airfare, hotels, meals..blah blah blah - its going to cost you 1000's of dollars. I can't really justify the expense of attending these things when in all actuality - there really isnt that much new stuff to talk about. I mean just how many changes have there been to VFP since VFP5 when I went to San Diego ..in ...like what was it??? 1997 or something? I mean SURE there are SOME...but not enough to get me to spend all this money to hear about the way the command window now docks. And if its more than 'learning new techniques and getting some new ideas' (which I can do from the comfort of my own home and/or office via the internet) and 'showing my support for the VFP community' - well - damnit give me something NEW to support already! I realize there is all the xml and cursoradapters and stuff - but really it's all stuff you can pick up in just a coupla days. I'm not gonna spend 1000's of dollars every year to 'show my support' for something I paid for to being with! Heck give a new report writer or something BIG...THEN I MIGHT show up at a convention to learn about it! Until then - forget it!


>I netcha I heard from at least 2 dozen people last year who said "I am skipping WhilFest this year but I am going to go next year". Well guess what? Now there isn't going to be a next year. Maybe if all the people who "wpuld have attended" did attend, it would have made the difference.
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>You can't blame people for not putting on conferences and not writing books if they lose a bunch of money in the process. Sure, we all want to support the community, but we still have to support ourselves and our families in the process.
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>< SET RANT OFF >
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>I hope to see you in Kansas City in June < s >.