I suppose my point was, get a virtualization platform and go to town. I disagree with the fears of some about vbox (at worst, it may go the way of LibraOffice). But use whatever really.
Ps - knowing code has little to do with knowing a system. Than again I meet dumb as hell cs majors all the time that will spit theory like gospel - half the time the theory doesn't make sense in any real application. Don't be one of them. Learn the system, learn to code, and learn the theory, then you can know what to apply.
Sorry for replying out of the thread. I'm hoping this email won't be responded to and will instead get this thread back on track answering his question.