1. Best thing to do is to start off by reading the Quick Start Guide and User Manual eBooks on the iLiad.
2. Then setup your My iRex account via your computer Web browser and configure your Wireless network access on the iLiad. 
3. If you have Windows Vista, don’t even bother installing the iLiad Companion Software.  You can access the device directly as a drive.  If you want to back it up you will have to copy it manually.
4. The only software you will want to install on your computer is the Mobipocket Desktop Software.  It will recognize your iLiad and sync books and feeds to the Mobipocket folder under books.  Unfortunately, everything sits under the “Books” button then Mobipocket Books folder–even news.
5. The News button is pretty useless right now, not sure when we can expect to get content over the WiFi for the US.  According to the iRex Web site, it looks like there are a few international newspapers that provide content delivered directly to the device via the WiFi connection.  However it could be that the 2nd Edition of the iLiad is just to new and some of the features will be added over the coming months.
6. Project Gutenberg is a good source for eBooks.  The best option is HTML format and importing through MobiPocket software.  If you pull a book in text format you won’t get chapter navigation and may have display issues caused by carriage returns that prevent proper paragraph text flow.
7. There is a good community on MobileRead.com that has figured out how to do a lot with the iLiad but it does require a bit of digging.
8. You need to get Developer Package after you have setup your My iRex account.   It’s not documented in any manual but will download and install on your iLiad by using this link https://myirex.irexnet.com/user.php/developer.   Posting from MobileRead Forums for reference is http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12322.
9. FeedBooks.com’s iLiad Download software, currently only available on community threads, may just be the savior of the iLiad by allowing direct access over the iLiad’s WiFi connection to newspapers and books.  You have to have developer access using the Developer Package above and currently FeedBooks.com is not providing any downloads on their site.  Get it from the MobileRead Forums at http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22491.  Expand the zip file and copy the iNewsReader folder directly to the documents folder on the iLiad.

Given the limited research, I purchased an iRex iLiad 2nd Edition from eReader Outfitters.  The iRex iLiad is certainly the best eReader available today from a technology perspective.  The page flip bar is unqiue to the iLiad and positioned on the left so turning a page is just like turning a physical page.  It’s built in WiFi, open development platform and support for multiple formats makes it the leading technology.  However, if the iLiad is your first eBook reader you will probably begin to be frustrated at some point by the overwhelming number of titles available on the Amazon Kindle.  Currently there are over 131,000 titles available in Kindle format while none of the other competing formats have more than 50,000 titles.   

I’m also starting to see books that are available for the Kindle that aren’t available in any other format right now.  Also if you read a lot of new non-fiction, you’ll probably find it on Amazon long before it makes its way to MobiPocket or other eBook stores.

While the iRex iLiad is a much superior device it has its own set of challenges that if you want to simplify your eReading experience the Kindle is probably not a bad choice.  While I’m not a fan of the Kindle’s keyboard, layout, or its closed “Amazon only” system, it is pretty hassle free.

Solving the content issue is really a business and marketing problem that book reading community needs to come together to solve.  Ideally it would be great to see Amazon and iRex add support for the Kindle format to the iLiad.  There is definitely a revenue opportunity for selling eBooks in the Kindle format to non-Kindle users.  

That said, FeedBooks.com’s iLiad Download software which takes advantage of the iLiad’s WiFi connection may just save the iLiad.  FeedBooks.com is still much a work in progress and the site has challenges.  For example if you search for “economist” you won’t find any results but it is listed in the Top Newspapers and the Your Newspapers area currently lists the same name for all newspapers.

So if you aren’t a technologist and really want something simple that works with a lot of content buy the Amazon Kindle.  Hopefully, the iRex and FeedBooks will find a way to level the content playing field.  For me, I may end up owning both a Kindle and an iLiad.  Two readers still save a lot of space in the suitcase.  I’m not totally unhappy with my investment in the iLiad.  I think I’m just upset that the book I wanted to read during my trip is available as a Kindle book and not in any other format.