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There is no ban on virtual Vista
Saturday, October 14th, 2006
There’s a lot of confusion going around about the new Windows Vista licenses. I wrote about the 
two-machine limit earlier this week. Now I see Gregg Keizer at TechWeb and Robert McLaws of Windows Now arguing that the new license bans the use of Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium in virtual machines.
I believe their interpretation is wrong. In fact, I think Microsoft deserves credit for this change, which actually gives purchasers of Vista Ultimate a benefit they wouldn’t have under any previous Windows license.
The Vista license marks the first time Microsoft has explicitly addressed the issue of virtual hardware in a consumer-oriented product, I believe. The current license for Windows XP makes no distinction between physical and virtual hardware. It says, "You may install, use, access, display and run one copy of the Product on a single computer, such as a workstation, terminal or other device ("Workstation Computer")."
Under the current XP license, a virtual machine is a separate computer and needs a separate license, with a separate product key and product activation. The new terms in the license for Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium continue that policy and make it crystal clear: » No, there’s no ban on virtual Vista | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com
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