Installing Python
Install the Python interpreter on your computer and learn where to find the Python Interactive Interpreter.
Windows
Grab the Windows installer for the latest stable ("production") release from python.org.
Where a lesson says to use the Python Interactive Interpreter, use the Python Shell which is found in the new Python entry in your Start menu. It's labeled "IDLE (Python GUI)".
Linux
For Debian, as well as Ubuntu, Mint, Linspire, and most Debian-based distributions, install the package python. For other distributions, check your package manager for python if you have one, otherwise compile from the latest stable ("production") sources from python.org using the included instructions.
Where a lesson says to use the Python Interactive Interpreter, type python at a terminal.
Mac OS X
Grab the latest stable ("production") Mac OS X installer from python.org. Where a lesson says to use the Python Interactive Interpreter, type python at a terminal.