Bunch of newbie questions

First, please forgive my ignorance of Mac world. I am just on the cusp of making the switch from PC. I am looking at the 20" iMac. Aside from the obvious of all new apps and any peripherals I might add, what else should I be prepared to buy?
I am also just thinking of making my own website. I was considering using iWeb, but wondered about .Mac, how is it cost wise compared to say go daddy or something. Also can you register domain through .Mac? Could you create a website using iWeb and publish it through another host?
How capable is iPhoto? I use Photoshop but not nearly to its potential. I really just need something for image retouching and resizing, pretty basic stuff, but more than standard windows stuff will do.

Is it worth waiting for Leopard or will Tiger be sufficient for many years? (I built my PC in 99 and have only added memory, changed graphics card, and upgraded to XP Pro) So you can imagine I like to get some mileage out of my stuff.

Sorry for all the random questions, I am just typing them as they come to me.
Thank you in advance.
Kevin

- $100 for a .Mac account which has loads of other features, but come useful mostly if you have more than one mac.

- You can publish to another host, though not directly through iWeb. You have to export it to a folder and then upload it using your own FTP tool.

- I use iPhoto quite often for retouching and adjusting colour/saturation and such. It is quite capable at making pictures look good. Only don't expect any layering and selections and such.

- I feel Leopard is going to be amazing. Its got a lot of cool features and you are gonna want to get that. But then again, Tiger is just as fine...

Thanks.
So it sounds like I should wait till they are available with leopard or will that still be an upgrade?
I (my wife) have my first baby due in about 2 months so I would like to have any of this stuff done before my life gets changed forever.
How likely is it that Leopard will be out in October? And would the iMacs have it loaded?

Leopard is definitely coming out in October, that is, it is very likely. But when in October is the question at hand. it could very well be 30th October, though many are saying its gonna be the 5th (10/5 eh?).

Me being a Mac fanatic, I would wait for leopard. Its gonna have a lot of cool features and everyone's going to want to upgrade at least one year after its release. And at $129, it doesn't cost the earth. A new iMac bought after Leopard is released, however, will get Leopard preinstalled or at least a coupon.

I guess you could wait till the 5th and see... My friend has installed the BETA. It is apparently really smooth. Search results are instantaneous, and the workings are faster than Tiger...

Maybe, I'll go back to the Apple store and see what they say. The price for upgrade is pretty reasonable either way. I wonder if the price will increase on the iMac when it comes with leopard..? I want to go back and play on iWeb a little anyway. I experimented on most of the things I was interested in but forgot about iWeb.

Do you still get all the pop-up windows for updates like on windows? If its not Norton or Java, then its some windows app. Annoying none-the-less.

Leopard is due to be released in October following the delay to get the iphone out.

It will ship free with every mac once released so it may be worth waiting until what can be only a max of 6 weeks.

In most certainty there will not be any price hike. They never do that. Rest assured its gonna cost the same.

Why do you think I left windows? I couldn't stand the constant reminding for updates, suck-urity checkups, and whatnot. OS X fades into the background and let's you do what you want to do. And there is no antivirus there to hog on resources and start unauthorised system scans...

utilityart, at this point in time, wait for the new OS Leopard.

Just so there is no confusion, there is no "upgrading" especially pertaining to discounts, from Tiger to Leopard. Whenever Apple releases a new OS, we all pay the full retail price. Hence my recommendation to wait.