Plenty of people have done it. No worries there. All flavors of Windows Vista should work with Boot Camp, but I do recall some hubbub about Vista Home.

Go to System Preferences and set up your Dashboard and Expose settings. You can bind a keystroke to show the desktop through this.

Follow the instructions on the Boot Camp site to install Windows. Or read the included readme file. It's a fairly simple process. Install the Boot Camp Assistant, burn a CD with driver files, use the Boot Camp Assistant to partition your harddrive, install your Microsoft Windows XP/Vista OS of choice, run the driver installation CD.

I've been using Adium for chatting, but it certainly does have its limitations. :\

You guys do know that the MacBook / MacBook Pro will scale back the processor speed if it's running on AC power with no battery plugged in? You might as well just leave the battery in there all the time, but unplug once in a while to allow the electrons to do a little moving.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305336

Finder -> Pictures -> iPhoto Library -> Originals

Honestly here - who bothers manufacturing in their home countries anymore? Most everyone has moved to Asia for manufacturing purposes. What difference does it make to you if your MacBook Pro is made in the US over China? Are you really willing to pay more for the same product just because production has taken place in the United States, where you have to pay employees with an hourly minimum wage that exceeds what the Chinese laborer is making for his whole work day? The end product is what matters. It's the same damned thing, produced at lower cost. There are plenty of people out there clamoring for consumers to "buy American" but at the end of the day, there's no difference.

Try burning the driver installation CD again, or use the Boot Camp Assistant and put all of the driver files onto a USB flash drive. The first time I burned the CD it didn't work and my computer would hang trying to read it under XP.

A 512MB USB flash drive is enough for the drivers.

I run mine fine with the lid closed. Think about the people who have their MBPs hooked up to external displays.

Jonathan, get InsomniaX.

I couldn't figure that one out, either. Supposedly there are no tariffs charged on the importation of computer products into Malaysia, so that's likely not the reason. I hear that it's Apple's decision to mark up prices in Malaysia.

Upgrading the HD and RAM are completely separate matters. Many have upgraded to 250GB harddrives by themselves without any issues. Use SuperDuper or similar software to back up your harddrive onto the new disk before installing it.

I've been using some cheap USB 2.0 hub that I picked up at Lowyat without any issues for a while now. They shouldn't pose any problems, but do what you want with your money.

How much is a 15.4" MBP 2.4GHz 160GB HDD, 2GB RAM, 256MB 8600M GT worth without warranty? I may be looking to sell mine if it's worth my while. Thinking about switching laptops.

Keyboard protectors? You guys are insane. I take care of my electronics, but that's a bit much.

Oh yeah? It's been pricey.