I don't see a big difference between this announcement and Sherm Pendley's recent announcement about a new version of CamelBones.
I think of it in terms of a user's group meeting. If a well-known regular shows up to the meeting and announces to one and all that he's launched a new project and/or product, it's generally well received. But if a stranger walks into his first meeting and starts handing out flyers, quite a few folks are going to be offended by it.
That, I think, is the key difference. It's not really a question of commercial vs. free. It's a question of a community member making an announcement among friends vs. strangers blasting us with anonymous drive-by advertising.
sherm--
