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VMware launches Fusion 5

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Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#11

Post by eli »

protomyth wrote: post #6
eli wrote: post #4

The VMWare store still shows version 4... But if I'm reading this correctly, they added back in an upgrade discount, which I think was missing with the 4 release. Edit: here's the proper link http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/overview.html

That's pretty much why I never upgrade from 3 to 4. Now, it you can go from 3 or 4 -> 5 for $49.99.

Not only did I never upgrade past 3, but I just got a new MBA and decided to go with VirtualBox (which works fine, though I have a sneaking suspicion that is uses more CPU and is less energy efficient)

It appears that you can upgrade from 3 or 4 to 5 Pro for $49.99. As far as I can tell, I don't need any of the Pro features. And that's the same price as buying the non-pro version outright. So not much of a deal.

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#13

Post by eli »

batista wrote: post #9
nilsbunger wrote: post #5

I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? My single Fusion license has cost me $150 over the last 3 years! Thanks a lot VMware!

> I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? The changing digits at the end of the names you mention (Fusion 3, 4, 5) make it sound like those are _different_ versions of the product. Did any of them came advertising "free upgrades for life"? If not, I don't see the point of this rant. The worked hard, i…

Nobody is forced to buy, in fact the old version should still work fine.

No, it doesn't. That's the problem. Fusion 3 is buggy on Lion and doesn't run at all on Mountain Lion [1].

Though there is some truth to your point. I'm guessing it is a non-trivial amount of work to support new OS releases. Perhaps it's even more work than the new features being added. Surely they shouldn't be obligated to support old releases forever. But a discount to existing customers sure would make me less likely to explore cheaper alternatives...

[1] http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?langua...

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#15

Post by slantyyz »

microtonal wrote: post #7
nilsbunger wrote: post #5

I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? My single Fusion license has cost me $150 over the last 3 years! Thanks a lot VMware!

Not only that, but the upgrade price is virtually the same as the full price. Euro 43.07 vs. Euro 44.99. It must be some sick joke. On the upside, it's good news that operating systems are cheaper than VMWare Fusion these days ;).

It looks like the $50 upgrade takes you to the otherwise $99 professional version. I can't seem to find an upgrade link to the standard version.

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#16

Post by slantyyz »

eli wrote: post #11
protomyth wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty much why I never upgrade from 3 to 4. Now, it you can go from 3 or 4 -> 5 for $49.99.

Not only did I never upgrade past 3, but I just got a new MBA and decided to go with VirtualBox (which works fine, though I have a sneaking suspicion that is uses more CPU and is less energy efficient) It appears that you can upgrade from 3 or 4 to 5 Pro for $49.99. As far as I can tell, I don't need any of the Pro features. And that's the same price as buying the non-pro version outright. So not much of a deal.

I had to upgrade because of Mountain Lion (I have Fusion 3) but the only silver lining is that at least Digital River didn't tack on their sleazy "emergency download service" (completely unnecessary) on the shopping cart like they normally do.

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#17

Post by lflux »

nilsbunger wrote: post #5

I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? My single Fusion license has cost me $150 over the last 3 years! Thanks a lot VMware!

You're in for a surprise if you ever look at their server products. In my environment the VMware licenses cost more than the hardware they run on.

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#18

Post by s_henry_paulson »

nilsbunger wrote: post #5

I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? My single Fusion license has cost me $150 over the last 3 years! Thanks a lot VMware!

If you're hung up on the money, VirtualBox should do what you need, it has a seamless mode, and it's free.

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#19

Post by moepstar »

nilsbunger wrote: post #5

I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? My single Fusion license has cost me $150 over the last 3 years! Thanks a lot VMware!

's just the same with Parallels... I've bought v6 which isn't compatible with Mountain Lion now (worked with Lion just fine)

Faced with the decision to shell out 50€ to make it run with a 16€ OS upgrade after a little thinking, googling etc. i just went with Bootcamp & Windows 7.

While this doesn't have the convenience of just starting the VM (gotta reboot) it at least has native performance which in my use-case (3D CAD) is more desirable anyways.

And you can't beat the feeling of not being extorted anymore...

Re: VMware launches Fusion 5

#20

Post by nilsbunger »

lflux wrote: post #17
nilsbunger wrote: post #5

I'm a bit annoyed, I just paid $50 to upgrade to the Lion version last year, plus $50 for Fusion 3 upgrade the year before that, and now I have to pay again? My single Fusion license has cost me $150 over the last 3 years! Thanks a lot VMware!

You're in for a surprise if you ever look at their server products. In my environment the VMware licenses cost more than the hardware they run on.

Yeah I know, I previously founded a company doing desktop virtualization on VMware ESX. I know it runs up to $3-5K per server, and that often turns out to be the "cheap" part after you're done with the SAN vendors :)

Even the fortune 500 are complaining about VMware prices though, but they keep paying because their whole datacenters are based on it. Hopefully Hyper-V will at some point provide some counter-weight to keep VMware's pricing in check.

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