Question

I am running Ubuntu 12.04, fully updated. Will I need to install pip and virtualenv to keep Python 2.6, 2.7 and 3 working properly for the course?

Answer 1

I would just use 2.7.3 and focus on the course content. Don't worry about the differences between versions. In my experience, all of that will be throw away knowledge anyways, so if you don't need it, don't worry about it.