I'm sorry to tell you the Mac OS doesn't have an equivalent to the Windows Maximize button. Instead, it has an "Optimize" button (the Green one).

This button will toggle between the state you are in and the optimized size for the content in the window. Now naturally this optimized size will vary with the various types of content you are looking at. And if the content is bigger than the display, it will in effect, maximize it.

The idea is that having an optimized window is more efficient because it enables multi-tasking and dragging and dropping. The down side is that it's easy to click out of the window and accidentally switch programs. This really throws off new Mac owners. Remember to look at the the menu just to the right of the Apple menu to see what application you are in at the time.

Granted you have a small screen with an iBook, but many people have much larger displays that can be up to 30". A maximized window would be ridiculous in many instances on a large screen. My suggestion is to embrace the optimized size and start dragging text, browser addresses, web graphics and more from window to window, and to the Desktop.

You can find more details in this article, Maximize vs. Zoom at XvsXP.

I just started using a Mac, and the ONE THING that totally bugs me is that folders within folders aren't prioritized on top of each finder window. Instead they're mixed alphabetically with all the other files in each folder. This is such an inconvenience when trying to dig deep in a group of folders and subfolders. Any way of changing this?

I think what may solve your problem is to view your Finder windows in List View (cmd-2) and the sort by Kind. You can do that by clicking on the column header. If it's not visible, scroll to the right to see it. Unfortunately, sorting by Kind still doesn't make them rise to the top, but at least it groups them together.

Another approach would be to add a space to the beginning of each folder name that concerns you. This way they would go to the top in Column View, and in List View if you sorted by Name. This might be too tedious, but I bet you could create an Automator script to do it for you.

My suggestion of placing the Dock on the right side of the screen works best if you turn off magnification and size the Dock down to where it stops just to right of your icons. To do this, click and drag the line that separates the top section of the Dock from the bottom section and drag to the right until it fits just right. Of course, if you are using gigantic Desktop icons, there might not be much room left for the Dock.