Free Windows Vista Virtualization!

Imagine a world in which the integration of Windows Vista and hardware emulation technologies would be free. Microsoft came close to liberalizing Windows Vista virtualization at the end of June but then changed its tune. The Redmond company reiterated support for the initial policy included in the operating system's license stating that virtual hardware systems are off limits for Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium, together with some features of the remaining editions of the platform. In the wake of those events, Gartner came out and accused Microsoft of indecision, and a poor virtualization strategy, stating that the community should point the Redmond company in the right direction.

"Microsoft has canceled plans to relax restrictions on consumer use of Windows Vista in virtual machines. Customers should still push for such changes from Microsoft, which appears to lack a clear strategy. (...) Microsoft had made - and then canceled - plans to announce that it would remove certain restrictions on the installation and use of Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Home Premium in virtual machines (VMs), and that it would allow Windows Vista features such as digital rights management (DRM) and Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption to be used in VM installations," revealed Gartner analysts Brian Gammage, Michael A. Silver and Neil MacDonald.

Gartner's perspective on Windows Vista virtualization restrictions is that Microsoft's policy is unjustified, and that instead of protecting end-users, it only manages to negatively impact the market adoption of virtualization solutions. According to Gartner, the security issues associated with virtualization cited by Microsoft serve only as an excuse for not opening up the Vista license regarding hardware emulating technologies.

"Microsoft originally cited security risks as the justification for prohibiting the consumer versions of Vista from being virtualized. However, Gartner believes that this issue is overblown and the risks are fundamentally no different than those posed by consumers running Windows as "administrators" today. In Gartner's view, Microsoft should not dictate to consumers in this area - instead, it should inform them what the risks are and let them decide for themselves," added Brian Gammage, Michael A. Silver and Neil MacDonald.