Initial Value: VMware initially built goodwill by offering reliable, feature-rich virtualization products and VMUG Advantage, which provided significant value to users.
Business User Phase: Broadcom prioritized enterprise/hyperscaler customers, extracting more revenue from them while degrading the experience for smaller users (perpetual license elimination, steep subscription costs, discontinued free products).
Shareholder Phase: The rapid transition to subscriptions and price increases align with maximizing short-term shareholder value, potentially at the long-term expense of the platform's broader ecosystem.
...
The VMware situation perfectly illustrates what one industry observer described as "the classic case of enshittification—where a platform degrades in value to the user to extract maximum value for the shareholder". Even if Broadcom were to reverse course, "the trust is gone" and "the threat of future audits and contract changes remains".
"Sorry this comment slipped by me as I was in the midst of implementing a way to post comments even for users that say no to cookies.
I'm using Supermicro's built-in iKVM feature:
https://t..."
"Thank you for the backup process. I followed the video and everything worked as expected. I was wondering if you could share some information on the tool you use to have a VNC-like connection to you..."
"This is a simple test of TinkerTry.com new improved handling of Disqus, and it uses the new API and lazy and deferred loading wherever possible. Disqus comments have returned to the sidebar area of al..."
"so on an existing installation is not possible to update it? i couldnt even figure out how to create the tokens lol i dont have that option i think on the dashboard..."
"It is quite frustrating. While I managed to get the free ESXi 8U3e hypervisor installed (new install only) with a license that doesn’t expire, you still need a token to even patch it the easy way:
h..."
"i m trying to find the way to generate the tokens etc but i m confused with broadcom....i think its about the time to start migrating to different platform...."
"Hello, I need help with the vCenter installer. Could you make it available in some drive so I can download it? I have the license and need to activate it to work in an old environment."
"Olá preciso de ajuda com o instalador do vCenter, poderiam me disponibiliar em algum drive para que eu possa fazer o download? Eu possuo a licença e preciso ativar para trabalhar em um antigo ambien..."
"I sourced the update zip from a third-party website and ran the following commands. The update seem to have gone fine. I suggest verifying the checksum of the file if you go down that route, as an ext..."
"I have not, as I moved homes and got rid of everything old, and I tend to avoid eBay stuff partly for support and energy use reasons.
It’s amazing that I’m still running both of my SuperServers t..."
"Yes. It can be downloaded from the Broadcom site. It is under Free Downloads and comes with a Free license integrated in the ISO. https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/free-downloads"
"I admit I haven't looked into that, but I appreciate you dropping that idea my way here on TinkerTry! I'm doing much of the same soul searching and tech solution searching that many others are likely ..."
"Is there a way to upgrade with the full ISO without overwriting the currently installed license?
It wouldn't be a total loss if we could somehow mount the ISO and use a command like below to upg..."
"This was such an insightful look back at the impressive legacy of these Supermicro Xeon D bundles! It's remarkable how these compact yet powerful systems served the homelab community so well for ..."
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Allan Tygert
Mar 01, 2026 at 3:58 PM UTC
USB Image Tool for Windows easily backs up and restores your complete VMware ESXi hypervisor on USB or SD drives, a simp
"Thank you."