It was bound that with Microsoft having made public the pricing details on the next iteration of the Windows client, the company would also introduce initiatives designed to help consumers decide on the Windows 7 edition best suited for them. And what better way than an operating system editions measuring contest? The software giant and partners have already started accepting pre-orders for Windows 7, which is scheduled to launch officially on October 22, 2009.

Microsoft is, of course, offering a Compare editions page set up as an overall guide highlighting the differences between Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. But don't expect an in-depth, feature by feature, painfully exhaustive comparison. Instead, the software giant is offering a general perspective over what it considers the main two editions of Windows 7 and the high-end SKU of the operating system.

Windows 7 “Makes the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation. Faster and easier to launch applications and find the documents you use most often. Make your web experience faster, easier, and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8. Easy to create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup. Watch many of your favorite TV shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV,” are the tasks enumerated by Microsoft that can be performed by all three editions.

When it comes down to running “many existing Windows XP productivity applications in Windows XP Mode. Connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join. Recover your data easily with automatic backup to your home and business network,” only the Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 will do the trick.

Windows 7 Ultimate offers a few extra features on top of all other editions. In this regard, Microsoft has chosen to highlight BitLocker, an encryption technology for the computers running the platform but also for removable and portable storage devices. In addition, Windows 7 Ultimate is the only version of the OS, with the exception of Enterprise, that can easily jump from one Multilingual User Interface (MUI) to another, seamlessly jumping among 35 supported languages.