14 DAY TRIAL // Virtual hardware systems will continue to be off limits for some editions of Windows Vista. Microsoft managed to hold back on its original promise to evolve the virtualization licensing for the home editions of the operating system. "You may not use the software installed on the licensed device within a virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system," says a fragment taken from the Windows Vista EULA covering the integration of Vista Home Basic and Home Premium editions with virtualization technologies. The paragraph will remain unchanged although Microsoft intended otherwise and came close to broadening the virtualization rights.
Through the license for Windows Vista, Microsoft allows end users to run only the Business and Ultimate editions as both host and guest operating systems along with virtualization technologies. Corporate users experience more freedom with Windows Vista Enterprise, as Microsoft allows up to four installations of the operating system in virtual machines. On June 20, 2007, Microsoft was getting ready to announce the expansion of the Windows Vista virtualization rights to encompass both Home Basic and Home Premium.
But what appeared as a "virtual" 180 for the Redmond Company, ended up as a full 360 turn, and nothing changed. Microsoft was in fact all set to go, and it had already alerted members of the media in accordance to its plans, but then backed off at the last moment canceling plans to lift Vista Home Basic and Home Premium virtualization restrictions. Following the initial change of heart designed to allow all Windows Vista editions to be integrated with virtualized environments, Microsoft informed that a reassessment of the Windows virtualization policy revealed that the original course was the right way to go.
The changes planned for the new Vista virtualization policy would have not only permitted the use of the Home Basic and Premium editions of the platform with a virtual hardware system, but also scrapped the limitations for Business and Ultimate, namely the following fragment: "you may not play or access content or use applications protected by any Microsoft digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other Microsoft rights management services or use BitLocker. We advise against playing or accessing content or using applications protected by other digital, information or enterprise rights management technology or other rights management services or using full volume disk drive encryption."