Simon,

OK, I'll bite. ;-)

IMHO it's a bit like Mercedes Benz cars when it comes to reliability. Merc has a strong reputation for reliability. However, many of the current Mercs are horribly unreliable. People keep buying Mercs and the brand's value proposition remains because Mercedes has made such a song and dance about reliability that people know any problems will be sorted out quickly. The Mercedes *intent* overwhelms what customers actually see. Ditto with SQL Server and DBFS. DBFs can be super reliable, but the emphasis and brand value proposition isn't there.

re SQL Server: we've had great experiences except for one client who kept losing SQL Data. Eventually I visited their server room and found the server behind the door where it received a good belt every time somebody came in, rebooting as the mood took it. I don't think it should be my job to advise customers about the need for a doorstop if they put anything fragile behind a door, but there you are.

Good to hear from you. How is your dotNET project going?

Regards

j.R