I have been using You Control: Desktops, available for $30 from www.yousoftware.com, since getting my work MacBook Pro. I am delighted with it. It beats hell out of Virtual Desktop (and not just because it works properly). It is well worth the $30.
I've actually been using the recently discontinued "Virtue Desktops" to great success. The reason it's being discontinued is because Leopard is going to have this functionality natively...
As for the keyboard -- I just picked one up today and LOVE IT. It's like silk (silky love, if you will) on your fingers. I'd also like to mention the recessed usb ports on the underside that make the mouse plug 'disappear' when looked upon from the top. Very nice.
I'm far from the first to complain about the brightness problem—apparently the 24" iMacs from the last series had the same issue. There is a freeware solution: Shades. I'll still complain about it when I get around to calling AppleCare about iPhoto.