> But, is that the PROPER answer to give them? > > I'd really enjoy hearing comments on all sides of these questions... >that is, if you all don't mind chiming in. The best VFP minds in the world >comprise this audience, and it would be quite beneficial for me to read >various thoughts on this topic.
Hm... the proper answer is, "If you stay with Windows, there is no guarantee that ANYTHING will work 3 to 5 years from now. On the other hand, if you go with a different operating system....there is still no guarantee that ANYTHING will work 3-5 years from now." The thing is, most developers of OSes and programming languages have a bleeding-edge orientation and they chuckle at people who think that old stuff should continue to work for any period of time after they--the very cool bleeding edge people--find a so-called "better" way of doing things. I'm not trying to be facetious. It is really, absolutely, true that NOTHING can be relied on for a long period of time in the IT world. Customers need to understand that. Software has an even shorter life than entertainment media. They need to build into their projections the expectation that, at the very outside limit, their software will have to be redone every ten years or so. And NOBODY can predict, in Year One, what they will need in Year Ten. (Yeah I know, that is not the MS lifecycle. But it's the maximum lifespan you can expect from a very-well-maintained, high-quality, desktop computer--upon whose demise you'll be forced to go with a different OS, and, potentially, different software.) So it's not about the platform. It's about the intelligence and resourcefulness of developers. If you're reliable and resourceful, then they can rely on you to come up with the replacement they need. If not... then not. Ken Dibble (who is more than usually irritated with the software business tonight) www.stic-cil.org _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
