I built a dual quad-core Xeon system with about 4 GB of RAM to use as a
desktop running Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 (I was able to get this for
free at www.dreamspark.com since I am a student). I don't personally
like the idea of virtualization on a laptop because I have had a number
of issues with overheating laptops that have died within a year or two.
I have the Hyper-V role installed and I build new systems using a demo
install of Windows Server 2008 R2 (I mainly do short term testing of
different features, < 10 days usually) and of Windows 7/MS Office as
needed.
As time goes on, I might try to get a Technet or MSDN subscription as
non-production use falls under the license and I can have a little more
permanent installation/testing environment. Unless you are going to do
really heavy development or need a stable test environment, I would go
the short term testing route that I have described above, as 10 days is
usually enough to work through the labs in the self-paced training
material and anything interesting that you find online.
If you do not have a version of Server 2008 or 2008 R2 that you can
install as a base install (to use Hyper-V), you can probably use a copy
of Windows 7 and run a free virtualization platform like Virtual Server
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/cc949735.aspx#ECAA) or Virtualbox.
-- Mike Burr
