Installing the Python language on your computer is not difficult, and it will greatly simplify your life if you can do your assignments on your own machine.
We will use Python 3.3.0, NOT Python 2.7.3. If you write a program using Python 2.7 (or any version earlier than Python 3.0), it will not work when we try to grade it. So please be careful to install 3.3 and NOT 2.7.
When the installer runs, just keep clicking "Next" to accept the standard installtion options, and finally "Finish".
When you are done, if you left-click on the Start menu at the bottom-left of your screen, and then "All Programs", you should see "Python 3.3" in the list of programs you can run. Click on it, and then select "IDLE- Python Interpreter" to get started! (Note: not "Command line").
From the official Python download page, choose the installer for Python 3.3.0 for your version of OS X. After installing, you should find two apps in your Python3 folder in Applications, "IDLE" and "Python Launcher". We'll use mostly IDLE, but Python Launcher just runs the program (like double-clicking in Windows). You can put both in your dock, and then drag the program to the one you want. To make one or the other the default, control-click on a python program, select "get info", then change the "Open with" option. If you do that, double-clicking on a Python program will automatically open it using the selected option.