Leaked Windows 7's EULA Surprises: It's Beta 1, Virtualization OK, and More

Posted 12/31/2008 at 11:06am | by Mark Edward Soper

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Although the official release of Beta 1 of Windows 7 isn't expected until early January, a leaked copy of what looks like Beta 1's been making the rounds on the Internet for a few days. ZDNet's Ed Bott (a one-time colleague of mine back in the days of Windows Me) has spent some "quality time" with the build, and reports some interesting tidbits from the EULA:

• The revision ID at the end of the EULA is: Win7_B.1_PRO_NRL_en-US - so it sure sounds like Beta 1 is on the loose.
• There's no limit on the number of installs you can perform, but they stop working on August 1.
• Redmond says you can't use Beta 1 in a production environment.
• You can install Beta 1 in a virtual machine instead of a normal installation, but only one VM per hardware device.
• Potential privacy concerns (such as Customer Experience Improvement Program and automatic error reporting) are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you prefer.
• Beta 1 must be activated.
• Releasing benchmark test results to third parties without Microsoft's prior written agreement is not permitted.

If you've already fired up Beta 1, what surprises have you discovered? Hit Comment and tell us about it.