I am also not a big fan of losing the community edition. (Though in reality it is gone and it is only there to support current implementations but as pointed out you can download a license and fire up a new site)
Though I do understand why they would not offer it publicly.
I would like to have seen it become a Partner offering only where we can set it up and support it. (ie no SF support) Or as an extension for license holders allowing them to run micro sites without having to pay for a new domain license.
The ability to help out people with a small need, get them using Sitefinity so if they come across bigger ventures they want to use Sitefinity from the start.
Yes it is getting more expensive over time but the SF developers do need to be paid to create more and better features. But I would like to see a few more options for the small guy. (me)