Modding the Wii is easy. I've had mine since Day 1 and modded it the week after. DLing games is easy and painless, the only thing thats a bitch is renting a game and copying it, it's easier to just DL it and burn it. For more information about your modding questions go here and read ALL about it: http://forums.afterdawn.com/forum_view.cfm/154
And for all you Wii Haters, don't be jealous that it takes 20mins to mod this and games are DL, burn, and play.