phartman on "installing on my windows server 2008"

I downloaded Wordpress intending to use it as blogging software. I followed the instructions in the readme file. I tried installing the files in a subdirectory of the website root, and tried running the install.php file from the browser on my pc and from the console of the server. No luck. I think that I have now figured out that I need php and MySQL installed on my server. Is that so? If so, I think that sounds difficult.
What I am wondering is how the blogging part is different from the html editor part of wp. If it isn't, why not just use html? I hope someone can clarify the situation for me. I am in a class that suggested using wp to set up a blogging site, and I need to know if I am understanding the situation.