The merge / acquisition of VMWare inevitably will change its prices. The marketing / salespeople are under pressure to make money for the new owner. The other management is being pressured to cut costs, which has led to turmoil. I had an interview scheduled with VMWare for a contract engineering project a couple of weeks ago. They canceled on one hour notice (!) and the scuttlebut was it was related to the cost goals of new (merger) management which altered all plans.