VMWare Backlash

I have been using many forms of virtualization for years.  Windows Virtual Server, Virtual PC, VMWare ESXi, VMWare Workstation, Windows Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer.   The leader has most often been VMWare, they had a mature product with a load of features that you could buy into.   Recently I was reviewing the new licensing for vSphere 5 and was driven right direclty to think,  “ya know, hyper-v works good enough and the new features coming next year make VMWare pointless.”    search the internet and find the myriad of posts with criticizm about the new pay per vRam format.  search twitter for the hashtag vTax.    One thing that I hate in the computing world is arrogance.  You may have a good product but with the quickly changing environment that is the computing world you have to stay on your toes.    I worked at a non-profit company and when we asked VMWare about a discount for 501 C 3 companies we were told no.  Not just we will think about it but a loud resounding “NO!”  To me that is arrogance and once again the new pricing, which they have recently revised due to social media backlash, creates a hostile pricing scale that will have companies telling their I.T. engineers, “how quicly can we convert to XenServer or Hyper-V?”  O.K. so there is labor involved in converting to another platform, but when licensing the virtualization is 75% less every year, it can start to make sense.   With features with Hyper-V replica being introduced early next year I would thing that testing the conversion process should start today.  One of the radio stations that I listen to plays a clip from the answering machine message left my a girl who what texting in a theatre,  it states, “thanks for taking my money %#! hole”.   Beware VMWare.