I was happy to see Lightroom because Adobe seems to respond well to the needs of photographers, and we *really* need a cross-platform visually-oriented data-base program specifically made for photographers. I've tried a couple of the other data-base programs, and they seem to be made for data-base users, rather than photographers. I had high hopes for Aperture, but so far, that has been disappointing, and I'm also somewhat wary of the fact that Aperture is apparently going to be an Mac-only app. Aperture also worries me a bit because like other Apple products, there seems to be an emphasis on coolness rather than function, and a photo data-base should be about function above all.
I also like the idea that Lightroom is a discrete program. That actually helps me organize my thinking in some way -- Photoshop has grown into such a huge, complex program, that I sometimes become confused about how to do what I want to do. I prefer the situation of being in Lightroom (so now I'm organizing and finding) and now I'm in Photoshop (so I'm fixing and cutting and pasting.) It may sound weird to the computer-adept, but the simple fact that there are two programs helps me out.
I would hope that Adobe brings in Lightroom at a reasonable price, but that may be a forlorn hope. If they've got a good underlying data-base program, and if they are really sensitive to what photographers need, and if THEY KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID, they will probably become the standard. Then they will probably become expensive.
JC