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The Next Round in the Virtualization Wars

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the in-this-corner dept.

GvG writes "After making Virtual Server available for free some time ago, Microsoft announced today it is offering Virtual PC as a free (as in beer) download. They also announced a change to the Vista license related to virtualization: Customers who deploy Windows Vista Enterprise have the ability to install up to four (4) copies of the operating system in a virtual machine for a single user on a single device. Even better, nothing in the license requires that Microsoft Virtualization technologies be used - if you want to use a competing product as your Virtualization solution, you still get the four extra licenses for use with VMs."

3 of 355 comments (clear)

  1. OSS is working by Dryanta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft is scared, this is the first time I can ever recall them becoming MORE lax on licensing schemes for a new OS. They're not just scared, they're terrified! This huge industry push to OSS and virtualization could be the end of Microsoft and the tech economy as we know it. Or, they could pull another halfway-decent suite out of their backsides and surprise us. Even if this is the climax of the market share crescendo... at least at the end of the day the poor IT guys stuck in Microsoft solutions will thank us all for it.

    1. Re:OSS is working by 0racle · · Score: 5, Insightful
      All that just to compete with Xen.
      No one cares about Xen. Microsoft made a copy of VPC free to drum up business for a product they just bought. VMWare made one of their products free to expand their market, they can even still make money with VMWare server by selling support for it, or when its users realize they need more and upgrade to ESX. Xen exists for some hobbyists.

      What does MS have to worry about with Xen or VMWare for that matter if they give VPC away? You still need to have a valid licence to run Windows on it or VMWare. VMWare has little to worry about too. Where are you going to get support for Xen from? Does Xen even come close to providing what VMWare workstation or ESX can do?

      People are only running scared from OSS in the minds of many Slashdot users and bloggers no one cares about.
      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
  2. Up to four? by truedfx · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Customers who deploy Windows Vista Enterprise have the ability to install up to four (4) copies of the operating system in a virtual machine for a single user on a single device.
    Am I the only one who finds it completely ridiculous that using the software by a single user on a single machine could ever require multiple licenses?