0. VMs are fine to start, but you'll want a linux machine soon-ish; (Web!?)

1. Part of it is learning proper style and communication means

0. Matasano challenge used a web interface, and it was quite pleasant. Doesn't really matter what the "view" is so long as the goal is accomplished. But if folks want to go down the boring cliché road of religulocity by insisting emacs is the only true editor[i], it would be disappointing.

[i] another example might be zsh vs. bash, a thread that would go off the right edge.

Aaaah, ok got you. No, they don't care what you use as long as what you send is in the right format.

The tasks require you to compile and boot kernels, and all submissions are email, just like Linux developing. So, no web involved.