New User, Many questions

[Billtx]

OK, I'm new at this, but before I list my issues, I'll mention that I've read the Limewire 3.6.8 manual AND FAQ and have checked a few other threads and haven't found answers so here goes:

1) I read that to optimize performance, I should leave Limewire connected. If so for how long? And if I have to disconnect for a while, will this degrade my connection quality when I reconnect? (say after a few hours to two days)

2) I have an SBC Yahoo! DSL connection. Is there any benefit for me if I enable the Ultrapeer capability? Do all those incoming connections help or hurt my search and download capabilities?

3) When I DO have ultrapeer enabled I steadily go from about 6 or 7 outgoing connections to none. Is this good or bad? I would assume bad since I would assume that my outgoing connections would be to a faster/more powerful host. If it is bad, how do I add more outgoing connections without a specific IP address? (the manual wasnt very helpful here)

4) While I'm connected, the most noticible effect is on the time it takes to load web pages on my browser. Is there anyway to improve this? I've done the following - minimized LW to my system tray, set the upload bandwith to the very minimum, disabled outgoing and incoming compression.

5) Will my search/download capabilities REALLY be any different with a different program? (Assuming it uses Gnutella)

I think thats it. I appreciate any help. To be honest, the only reason Im using limewire is because I had some contact with it in grad school. Other than that Im not really familiar with file sharing programs (I tinkered around with morpheus the other day, and didnt seem to be any better)

Thanks for any help!