Have you tried our free virtual labs yet, where you can test out a Microsoft product in a sandbox environment on our network, so you don't have to mess with yours?
It's pretty slick, and just got better, because the next version of Virtual Labs just shipped, offering:
  1. Improved registration process - no more separate registration from webcasts to virtual labs
  2. Brand new user-friendly interface for better experience
  3. More concurrent seating capacity

Virtual labs are a great next step after learning about the technology with a webcast, you can go try it out with a virtual lab.
See TechNet Virtual Labs, and MSDN Virtual Labs for developers. 

TechNet Virtual Labs

Ever wanted to test Microsoft's newest software in a sandbox environment? Wouldn't it be great to be able to test new servers immediately, without formatting hard drives or dedicating one or more computers to the project? Now you can, with the TechNet Virtual Labs.

Dean Andrews
TechNet Webcasts