[Tutor] Install/upgrade question

[cclpianos at comcast.net]

Hello,

I am very new to programming and have been using Python on my Mac  
mini 1.66. I'm a bit confused by the install procedure as I have two  
different versions on my machine.
I didn't know that it came pre-installed on my mac (version 2.3) and  
went to the DL site for 2.61. Well it downloaded just fine but I seem  
to have a few situations.

My main question is "How do I get the downloaded version to replace  
what's on my system?

As it is, I can open the IDLE and it verifies I have installed  
version 2.61. But when I run a dir() request it spouts the version is  
2.3. Confusing...

Further I DL'ed the .tar which decompressed to a .dmg file. The 2.61  
folder is currently on my Desktop, where I process most of my downloads.

Thanks!

And finally, this is amazing stuff. I've dreamed about being able to  
write software for years and feel I have found something quite useful.