I'm surprised nobody has mentioned SDF yet. http://sdf.org/ http://sdf.org/ They're an org with a super long legacy in the technology / linux server space and

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned SDF yet. http://sdf.org/ http://sdf.org/ They're an org with a super long legacy in the technology / linux server space and they offer a unix shell for free. It's a great starting place to play around, and there is a built in community of hackers that are also hacking around on the shell, so its easy to find answers for "Beginner" questions. I know as well for a nominal fee they offer VOIP Telephony, every flavor of database under the sun, and lots of other fun stuff. Great place to start tinkering with these technologies.