VMWare / Wine

[Derek Broughton]

Eberhard Roloff wrote:

> Derek Broughton wrote:
>> 
>> No, that would satisfy Microsoft, but Canadian law doesn't have the same
>> sorts of restrictions that US law has (as the RIAA and others have been
>> complaining).  We don't have legal support for DRM, and we have
>> _explicit_ rights to copy audio and video recordings (that we own) for
>> our personal
>> use.  While I don't know of case law to back up the use of software in a
>> situation like this, it's certainly analogous and I feel on very safe
>> ground to assume I'd win if MS wanted to try to take me to a Canadian
>> court.  After all, I haven't made more copies of the software than MS's
>> EULA tells me I can make AND I'm running it on exactly the same hardware.
> 
> Well, then you may try to call MS and let them reactivate your windows
> installation.

I could - I have seen some people had success with that but there are two
issues.
> 
> I did this with a winXP home that came with my computer and now runs on
> top of Linux in VMware. I did not have a problem with explaining to the
> microsoft hotline that I "slightly downgraded" my existing hardware and
> that the system now cries for activation, once again.
> But well, this was/is in Germany and I do not know how they handle this
> elsewhere.

The real problem is that I am currently having hardware trouble with the
Dell (two months so far to get my "next day in-home service!), and I know
I'd damn well better have a working physical Windows OS or they'll blame
Linux (if I ever get them to deal with it in the first place).  So if I got
MS to give me a key that worked in the VM, my key for the physical copy
wouldn't strictly be valid - and it would try to check eventually.  The
other problem is that I have a phone phobia :-)
-- 
derek