I am fondling with this VMWare and Virtual PC tool for sometime now. After introduction of Intel Core / Dual Core processors, the virtualizations are not a fiction in desktop environment. Yes with a 2GB RAM, I can run 4 different OS simultaneously allocating each of them 512MB RAM and of course all 4 of them will rum smoothly! My scribble here is not about what virtualization is or how it works. Get lost in virtual world!
If I run 4 OS on my laptop simultaneously and essential all 4 of them are same (for instance Windows XP), I wonder do I need to buy 4 licensed copy of Windows XP? What about the duplicate software I install on them? Do they need different licenses as well? Whether I really buy genuine softwares or not is totally a different beast in itself (Patent cautious readers might get hurt!). Let us not discuss it here :)
Now, did I hear someone asking why would I ever require 4 of same OS running on same PC? I might want to learn networking with all these OS in the same laptop without buying extra hardware! For that mater a training institute will install remote desktop for a particular OS and allow its students to access the OS simultaneously, the application of virtualization is limit less.
Back to the original discussion, if I already have a single processor license, won't it suffice? Or is this a loophole to bend laws governing licensing? What if the software providers don’t have a user based licensing system at all in place? Things get complicated when we ask more question, won't you say?
Disclaimer: This scribble might not be suitable for certain type of visitors, who ask what Licence is. Such users are advised to just enjoy the scribble and not to worry about where it leads. Also be strongly advised that intention of this scribble is not to destroy their belief, philosophy, etc.
2 comments:
Infinity puzzle for you:
If you install two OSes on your machine and then on one of them, you install a virtualization software and use it to run another OS. Can you, inside that virtually running OS, install and run another instance of virtualization software and run another OS ?
Of course you can... If you have 1 gb ram... you would have allocated 512 mb to each os. And if u want to install another os inside a virtual os.. then u will split the ram to 256 each of already allocated 512.. and u can continue to do till the ram is insufficient to install os!
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