Home Brewers - Need Advice

[ulster]

After seeing the Mr. Beer post I was thinking of picking up a Mr. Beer system to try my luck at home brew. After reading more and looking at the advice on the posts I decided against it - not against home brew but Mr. Beer to getting a better system. A colleague has loaned me his home-brew equipment (its like a basic start up kit - plastic bucket style) so I only need to supply the ingredients.

For those homebrew veterans what advice other than sterilization would you pass along to to a homebrew newbie. What resources should I read or look at first.

What equipment do you suggest and recommend from your experience? Any tips or tricks?

Our house doesn't have a garage - is there a lot of smell (off gassing) from the fermentation bucket?

Thanks in advance for your advice.