OS X in VM Ware or Virtual Box

Is this possible? Legal? If so, what are the drawbacks and tricks

As of OS X Lion 10.7, the EULA permits you to use the OS in two virtual machines, on Apple hardware:

(iii) to install, use and run up to two (2) additional copies or instances of the Apple Software within virtual operating system environments on each Mac Computer you own or control that is already running the Apple Software.

This was first allowed with OS X Server 10.5, and both VMWare Fusion and Parallels Desktop allow you to easily setup an OS X guest machine, as does VirtualBox

An OS X guest on non-Apple hardware is possible with some fiddling, but is in violation of the software's EULA (i.e doing so is of questionable legality..)

iTunes, running in a VM, will be able to see the iPod/iPhone/iPad. As long as the USB can be connected to the VM. So this depends on which setup you are using. The above should explain the legalities of the OS X and VMs.

You can install Linux on Apple hardware, then run a VM of OS X (10.7 and above) on the machine to be able to use iTunes to keep the library in sync and updated, etc., and it won't cause you any issues.

The "System Builder" version is intended for OEMs.

Basically, the difference boils down to the fact that microsoft will not provide support (e.g. tech support calls or live-chat) for the OS.

It is perfectly legal, will still receive all the patches and service packs, etc...

Here are more details. It's worth noting that I have transfered OEM versions of Windows XP (though not 7) between multiple computers without any significant issues, and generally if it's not activating, you just call Microsoft and they give you a new code.

Furthermore, since you're sticking it in a VM anyways, you should never really have to worry about windows thinking you swapped the mobo, and trying to reactivate anyways.

Off-topic a bit, have you tried running Internet Explorer under WINE? I know WINE supports IE6, and you may be able to finangle IE7 or 8 into working as well.