VMare Will Make ESXi Hypervisor Free

As of July 28, VMware's OS-independent hypervisor ESXi will be available for free. The move is widely seen as an attempt to counter Microsoft's new Hyper-V.According to VMware, the ESXi move will "seed the market" with VMware's products and enable customers a chance to try out VMware before committing to the company's higher-end (and costly) alternatives. With Microsoft's Hyper-V now available in Windows Server 2008 as a $28 add-on, the easy availability of VMware's competitor should help the company maintain its position.CNET News, InformationWeek