Archons of Perl Wisdom,

I am seeking recommendations for an easy setup for a newcomer to experiment with Perl in that anathema of an OS, better remain unnamed lest it blemishes my name.

I can exclude from the beginning, methods involving cmd.exe because I have the impression they will be too involved unless someone can suggest failsafe methods of setting paths etc. once and forever. So, I guess, I am looking for an IDE-based solution. And if a package installer is integrated to it, all the better. And must be free or "free". I can provide "support".

P.S. I have asked this on CB and LanX and Discipulus already gave some advice. Thanks!

P.S.2 The alternative is to setup a cheap linux box. And for that I was looking for refurbished 2nd-hand machinery i5 or i7 or AMD equivalent with 8gb RAM and 1tb HD. But I am a bit rusty with finding the right hardware for the price of 150-250 euros (no need for monitor, keyboard, mouse, SSD or a windows license). So, if anyone knows trustworthy suppliers or can suggest a good hardware spec of said equipment (to get it via amazon), I would be glad to know (via /msg or answer here). To be delivered to big cities of the UK.

bw, bliako