I hate verisign, but hey - it's better than Network Solutions having control. Remember verisign tried to implement wildcard domains everywhere that sent them traffic - so they are no goody good company. GoDaddy is bent because they say Verisign will increase domain prices. Some of us may consider 10 year registrations while pricing remains where it is.
I'm of two minds regarding prices. Personally I think the original price should be moderately high - $20-30 - while renewals should be much lower. Pricing domains too low encourages hoarding and other forms of abuse that overall hurt the Web community.
Actually, Network Solutions is owned by VeriSign, so... http://www.about-networksolutions.com/corporate-history.php
That's crazy - they are one of the companies petitioning ICANN to reconsider giving control to verisign. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/16/registrars_reject_verisign_contract/