Picked up a cobalt/black ds lite with zelda last night!

I've got a decent games list going from other thread (prof layton, nsmb, castlevania, mk, ninja gaiden, some brain age type game, etc) for when i have the time...

but what about the other stuff?  what cases are best to keep this baby protected?  should i put anything on the touchscreen or leave it bare?  what sorts of upgrades can i/should i be doing?  web browser?  media player? etc

also, i'd like to play some demos on the ds, but read that demo station demos only work until u turn off the machine?  can i not somehow save and transfer the demos from my laptop to my ds instead?

basically, what do i need to know (or site(s) to check out) about the ds that you wish u knew when u first got yours?  stuff that's not in the manual or obvious...

My DS is unprotected and it's just fine.
Unless you intent to do some drop test, you don't need extra protection.

 Agreed; DSs are built like rocks. The one thing you do need to worry about is scratching the touchscreen, though. I believe a few companies make screen overlays that might help in that respect.

Your DS is pretty surely the best made gaming machine you can buy. My friend lost his DS in the pool (he had it in his pocket, and it fell out) and it still worked after he jumped down and took it up.

Now that's just insane. You have to wonder, now, if the DS was built waterproof... 

anyone care to test the washing machine?
and then the dryer?

(not me)

 That would be like drowning a kitten.

The Gamecube has won many console strength tests too (concrete drop-testing). Nintendo really make good quality hardware designs.

Unless there's been a major update since I last used it, I would not recommend getting the Opera browser for the DS. Its incredibly slow and is not compatible with youtube.

The DS is ridiculously sturdy... you won't need to protect it at all.

I asked my friend if there was some other stories he has, he said that he lost his DS out of his bedroom window (about 5-6 meters above ground I guess) and it fell on solid ground. When he went down and checked on it, the only problem was that the Y button is now a little hard to use.

Maybe this is Japan's new plan. If USA bombs them, they will use multiple DS to protect them. That must be the reasons there are more DS sold in Japan than PCs.