Hmm, I installed an OEM version of XP on a MacBook just fine. And it's not like MSFT makes Apple-specific versions, is it?
..................
No, Ravi was imprecise: confusion ensured.
You can install an OEM copy of Windows on any machine: a copy shipped with a Dell will install on a Lenovo, and so on (you might have to install different drivers for NICs and so on but, not a huge issue).
But wait, the story's only half told! MSFT issues licenses to OEMs that are meant to *legally* tie Windows copies to specific manufacturers' product lines. Again, not from a technical POV - but rather, for verification and, perhaps, sales tracking purposes (i.e., when you auth to Windows Update, etc).
Right now, a friend - let's call him Monsieur Zodiac - is running a copy of Vista Ultimate meant for a Dell laptop within a VMWare virtual machine hosted on a Fedora box.
No technical obstacles at all, just the LOL-tastic quality of seeing the Dell logo all over the place in a non existent device.
And earlier, Doug wrote:
My god this -
<http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html>
is deeply insane.
....
Well yes it is, but actually? Yours truly wrote about this (referencing the good Dr. Gutmann, several times) right here:
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20070129/002241.html>
How soon we forget, like tears, lost in rain.
.d.