There has been quite a heated discussion spread around about Microsoft’s latest publication on the licensing scheme it’ll be conducting for Vista. The corporation states that the “new” license is nothing but a clarification of certain points. It was made to allow ‘normal’ people to actually read the EULA for a change. The most notable documents on this topic were published at Paul Thurrott’s Winsupersite.com; one by Paul himself and one by Koroush Ghazi (who runs TweakGuides.com).

The issue: Vista’s license restricts itself to a “device” instead of the person who owns the device. Moreover, it limits itself to one license transfer, whereas in the past you could easily transfer your license to your significantly upgraded machine (ie. for gaming). Is an upgraded machine necessarily a “new device”, and thus, does it need a new license?