so instead of being a tool which Google has already removed support for, it's in the bucket of tools which - at least to me - should be treated as liable to be cut at any time and don't rely on it.
sorry, Google lost any credibility in this area over the Reader fiasco - Google has no interest in maintaining a project for the good of a community, if it doesn't align with corporate strategy. 8 years history means nothing.
"... it's in the bucket of tools which - at least to me - should be treated as liable to be cut at any time and don't rely on it."
Unless you've paid for a guaranteed period of support, bug fixes and extensions of functionality, this how you should treat all code libraries surely? All libs come as is, and statements of future actions are always expressions of intent, not facts. If your company is utterly dependent on a single free 3rd party library then you should be prepared to take over ownership of it - or accept that your company's survival is at the whim of another. Personally, I would not be swayed by any brand name here - but who would you trust (enough to bet your company on) to provide long term support for a free OSS library?
Personally, I would consider the closing down of a very niche, free, consumer product based on a seemingly dying web technology as a very poor guide towards how Google will treat GWT, which is actually used by them for website development.
sorry, Google lost any credibility in this area over the Reader fiasco - Google has no interest in maintaining a project for the good of a community, if it doesn't align with corporate strategy. 8 years history means nothing.