Back in the good old days of XP there were essentially two Windows editions; Home and Professional. Along came Vista and the number of editions ballooned, making it far more difficult to select a version that included the features you deemed important while eliminating those that were unnecessary.

I had hoped with Windows 7 there would be a huge simplification by eliminating some of the different editions. I wanted to see one edition; Windows 7. That's it. Nothing more. You buy Windows 7 and you have it, the whole enchilada, available on the DVD.

I'd also hoped the installation would be broken into two phases. The first phase would include nothing but the bare essentials to make the system boot to a desktop. No notepad, no media player, no snippet tool, no aero, no cd/dvd burning tools, nothing. Phase two of the installation would be from a menu that listed everything else that was available and purely at the users discretion. Just think how nice that would be, not to be saddled with the tons of useless crap that saps system resources and wastes users time removing, if they are even able to be removed.

Of course my wish didn't come true with Windows 7 and it likely never will in subsequent versions, so let's go ahead and take a look at the reality of the Windows 7 Editions.

Windows 7 Starter Edition - This is limited to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) systems only. This means you can't buy it in the retail channel. A lot of folks are thinking this would be a good choice on Netbooks, those little underpowered, impossible to type on or see the screen things masquerading as useful computers. I don't really know where this will ultimately find a home, but put it at the bottom of your list; the very bottom.
Windows 7 Home Basic - Not available in the United States or other developed countries. I've read some pretty harsh reviews of this edition, but truthfully, if you've actually used the version it isn't all that bad. A lot of the bloat and crap is missing while the essentials are available. A shame it's for emerging markets only.
Windows 7 Home Premium - In all likelihood if you buy a new retail channel/consumer PC with Windows 7 pre-installed this is the version you're going to end up getting. Unlike the two previous versions this one contains the Aero interface, advanced networking, DVD playback and Media Center along with other standard consumer doo-dads. A few of the things it's lacking are multiple language support, the ability to join a domain, and Remote Desktop capability.
Windows 7 Professional - Sounds eerily similar to XP Professional doesn't it? This is basically the replacement for Vista Business except unlike Vista Business which stripped out the annoying multimedia features, Windows 7 Professional brings them all back, including Media Center. In fact, everything that's in Windows 7 Home Premium is in Windows 7 Professional as well as the ability to join a domain and use Remote Desktop. It's worth noting this is the first version level where EFS (Encrypted File System) is available. Unfortunately it does not allow booting from a VHD. It also includes XP mode for legacy apps.
Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterprise - You do remember the name 'Ultimate' from the Vista lineup, don't you? The one where you were supposed to get all the exciting ultimate 'extras' that turned out to be a huge debacle that alienated just about everybody that purchased it thinking they would get some really cool stuff. The thing that surprises me about the Windows 7 lineup more than anything is that Microsoft used the 'Ultimate' name again. Be that as it may, there are no 'extras' like Vista Ultimate.

If you buy this version via a retail channel it's called Ultimate. If it's obtained via a Enterprise Agreement (same as a volume license) it's called Enterprise. Same program, same features, nothing changed at all. Both contain every feature that is included in all the other versions. Notable additions to this version that are absent in all the other versions are BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, and DirectAccess. In addition you can boot from a VHD which I think is going to take on a greater significance in the future. Multi language support is also standard in Ultimate/Enterprise.

Inevitably someone is going to want a version that isn't available in their country. In the United States, on the home consumer level, available editions are limited to Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. The reality is you can get any edition you want, you just have to do some searching online and you'll find whatever you want from reputable sources. I'm not talking about pirated editions, but legitimate, fully licensed versions.

Take a look at the table below for an overview of what is available in each of the different editions. The list isn't 100% complete by any means, but it does cover the major features that will factor heavily in the decision making process.

Windows 7 Features	Starter	Home Basic	Home Premium	Professional	Ultimate / Enterprise
Maximum Processors	1	1	2	2	2
Processor Cores	No Limit	No Limit	No Limit	No Limit	No Limit
Max RAM - 32 Bit	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB
Max RAM - 64 Bit	N/A	8 GB	16 GB	192 GB	192 GB
Concurrent Applications	No Limit	No Limit	No Limit	No Limit	No Limit
Backup / Restore	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Homegroup - Join	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Action Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fax and Scan Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Windows Search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Streaming / Playback	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Credential Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Internet Connection Sharing		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-Monitor Support		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fast User Switching		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Thumbnail Previews on Taskbar		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ad-Hoc Wireless Support		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mobility Support		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Aero Glass Support		Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes
Homegroup - Create			Yes	Yes	Yes
Windows Touch Support			Yes	Yes	Yes
Windows Media Center			Yes	Yes	Yes
Remote Media Streaming			Yes	Yes	Yes
DVD Playback			Yes	Yes	Yes
Sticky Notes			Yes	Yes	Yes
Snipping Tool			Yes	Yes	Yes

Group Policy				Yes	Yes
Domain Capable				Yes	Yes
Remote Desktop Host				Yes	Yes
Encrypted File System				Yes	Yes
Advanced Backup				Yes	Yes
Windows XP Mode				Yes	Yes
Location Aware Printing				Yes	Yes
Offline Folders				Yes	Yes

AppLocker					Yes
BitLocker Drive Encryption					Yes
BitLocker To Go					Yes
BranchCache					Yes
Boot from VHD					Yes
DirectAccess					Yes
Multi Language Support					Yes

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