engine - 2:43 pm on Jul 17, 2006 (gmt 0)

The software industry is learning that virtual machines can cause real headaches, when it comes to figuring out how to charge for their programs. Right now, the computing world is clearly moving into a realm in which a single PC can be running many operating systems at the same time, and businesses want the opportunity to get the benefits of that flexibility, without having to pay over and over again for the same software. In a major shift for Microsoft, the company decided last week to allow business customers to run up to four instances of Windows on the same PC. It's part of a sea change that has the Redmond, Wash.-based software maker and the rest of the industry headed into unfamiliar waters.

Putting a price on a virtual computer
[news.com.com]