VMWARE PLAYER - is Free version no longer available

[jimbo45]

Hi there

Seems there will soon be a lot of defectors to Virtual Box, XEN, KVM, or HYPER-V soon. If you look at the VMWARE site there is now only mention of VMPLAYER PLUS (note PLUS or PRO in Software titles ALWAYS means PAY) and it's an astonishing 90 GBP / 110 EUR / 120 USD !!! + 20% VAT on top of that.

There doesn't seem to be ANY link to the FREE vmplayer product and even the vmplayer PLUS doesn't mention that it WAS free for home users.

Can't find any mention on the site that it's FREE any more.

If I'm looking for the FREE product I'm NOT going to click BUY NOW am I. !!!!

Is this "Monetisation" rearing its ugly head again.

I think this Backdoor method is still available - but for how long ???

Backdoor method link still up though - but for how long?).

https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/downloads


Cheers
jimbo

 

[maxie]

Hi there ... Downloads i think still has the Free Player .. Or at least it says it is Free .. Here are the Details >>> VMware Player and Player Plus for Windows 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Enter a license key into the VMware Player user interface to enable the VMware Player Plus features....

 

[Kari]

Confused. Going to VMware frontpage, clicking Downloads:

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And there it is, link to download Player:

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Clicking the Download link starts file download instantly:

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[jimbo45]

Hi there
Thanks

Seems though more and more sites are "hiding" or deliberately obfuscating any links to their FREE product -- If I hadn't of known about the Free player the main VMWARE site would have left me thinking that it was now a PAID FOR only product.

I'm not sure what "Extra" features though the "Plus" version has -- the standard version works very nicely -- for Snapshots and running VM's in the background I still use Workstation - but when I retire (not long now !!) I won't be able to use the Work supplied VMware workstation license I have.

Anyway thanks for the explanation.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Britton30]

It's only natural that developers will sell their product if they can, and if they can they aren't real prone to promote a free version. That's how I'd do it anyway.

 

[BJB]

I'm constantly amazed that VMware Player is free, it's just the most amazing bit of software when you consider the complexity of what it has to do and how well it does it - especially when running on SSD.

 

[andrew129260]

I'm constantly amazed that VMware Player is free, it's just the most amazing bit of software when you consider the complexity of what it has to do and how well it does it - especially when running on SSD.

Agreed.


I thought they stopped offering it for free at first as well. But if you go to vmware player download page and scroll down to the very bottom, it is there.

Or just google vmware player free