So, the real trick is minimizing the pain of getting this setup. If you are running on Linux or Mac OSX, you'll be happy to find out that you're a shell script away (almost). This script uses Oracle's Virtual Box to operate the VPC images. It is ironic that this is the only way that Windows 7 Home/Home Premium users can use these images, since Virtual PC and the XP Mode feature are not available without the Pro or Ultimate SKUs.*
Once you've got the IE App Compat images downloaded, you'll likely find they have a couple little problems: BSOD on boot and Windows activation; you'll find the solution to those problems in this blog article.
* As an aside, how long do you think Microsoft will continue this multiple SKUs? An OSX Lion upgrade is $30--for new VERSION! It doesn't matter, I suppose, given that most folks think Windows 8 will be DOA.