Q. I'm curious if you have experimented with COM outside VB6?
Yes, used it a lot in various projects. COM absolutely
stinks.
Q. Do you prefer a BASIC that requires knowledge of the Windows API to be useful?
I prefer a BASIC that requires
no knowledge of
any APIs in order to perform any task you care to try.
Q. What language do you use on a regular basis to get your tasks done?
Delphi/FPC, Visual Studio C++/GCC, XCode Obj-C.