you should check out XenSever from Citrix for Virtual server use.
Compared to VMWare - it is a cleaner install as it boots to Linux and has a small footprint. Plus the Xencenter management console is free and is more lag free than using the VM console.
Xenserver has more features than the free VM as well.
You are using ESXi which is not free like Xenserver i am pretty sure.
No ESXi is not free, but i have a corp license, so I have a install for all my servers at work and home. I've run Xenserver (or a clone) in the past and it is very capable. the great thing about VMware is the ability to use the Global Manager to Manage all my ESXi servers from a single interface and move Vservers from one physical box to another if issues come up.
But you are right, for a average user, an opensorce project such as Xenserver is a great product.