i have my IM buddies in my address book. So if I want to talk to Susan, and Susan is in my address book, I bring up QS, type Susan and it will first show her address card and buddy icon (scroll to the buddy icon), but i press space and the middle square shows "IM text..." and the last square you type your message. But it have to make sure you select the person's buddy icon, not their address card. It it easier then it sounds.
For iTunes, type browse, it will come up with Browse artist, albums, generes, and composers. If I want to hear Money from Pink Floyd, I can either press the right arrow on artist, scroll to Pink Floyd, then scroll to Dark Side of The Moon,press the right arrow then scroll to Money and press enter. Or you do the same stuff, but start with Browse Albums. You could type play, pause, next song, previous song to control the song. Just try it, its really easy when you get the hang of it. The best advice is don't be afraid to press the right arrow at everything and seeing what happens. Thats how I learned to browse my pics in iPhoto