MacBook Pro / newbie problem

I got my Macbook Pro on Friday and I'm beginning to love it.. But one thing is driving me nuts. I like to keep the computer running on the table and close the lid, come back again in half hour and continue from where I left off. It looks like after a while, my Macbook signs me out of my instant messenger and the terminal (from where I'm accessing my screen on a remote server) hangs. I want my messenger to keep logged in and my terminal to keep running even if I don't touch the computer for a while.

I tried to change the sleep settings, but it does not seem to help. Even if I said never to sleep, I still have this problem. It's probably some simple setting, I just can't find it.

Thanks for any help!

Your laptop will go to sleep when you close the lid. You can get programs such as Insomniax to stop this, but you have to be careful it doesn't overheat - a lot of heat is lost through the keyboard and the vents in the hinge (hence it going to sleep when you close it by default).

Is it not possible to "sleep" but keep the connections open at the same time? I have a one year old in the house, who will tap away at my keyboard if I leave it open when I leave the computer, so I really have to close the lid.

It is really annoying to have to re-open my connections every time I sit back. I will look into those programs, thanks.

No. Sleep is like standby mode really, it uses just enough power to keep the memory running but nothing else, so it starts back up where you were before.

Don't feel bad, all laptops are like that when it comes to their "sleep" mode.