Good choice on the camera. I've got one myself and love it. It's so Pocket Sized and the quality is high.

I definitely recommend a USB Compact Flash Reader or PCMCIA adapter if you've got a laptop. It's the only way to download pictures. It's quick and you can use the card as a drive in explorer. Usually, you don't even need a driver for the reader depending on your OS.
Using a card reader saves battery on your camera as well.

As for battery life, turn off the screen as much as possible. You don't really need it for taking pictures, and there is an auto review feature which shows you the picture for 2 seconds after its snapped. You can optionally turn these on as needed. I've had a battery last through 128MBs of pictures no problem that way.
Even then, the battery charger is fairly quick to get you snapping again.

As it stands right now, I'm having a problem with the power circutry in the camera. It was shutting itself off itermittently. This was not due to a powersave or low battery because it would just snap off without closing the lens. It's under warranty and I should have it back soon.

Ben