I'm with KR on the concern that preloading certain areas of the world will just make the rest of the world seem slow and annoying, both in comparison to the preloaded ones AND because it means that there will be less pressure to improve the performance in dynamically-loaded areas. And to my mind the Primary Differentiator of SL over WoW and so on is exactly those dynamically-loaded areas; otherwise it's just Yet Another MMO.
I also agree that the craziness in the new-user areas is a problem that needs more attention. My impression is that the new-user experience hasn't improved much at all since I started in 2006 on the simple path-with-parrot Welcome region, and was then thrown into a chaotic and unmanaged infohub to make my own way. If anything it's gotten worse, because there are more people hanging out at infohubs trying to exploit newborns in various ways.
I actually rather enjoyed the chaos :) but if the Lab really wants to get more Residents who aren't extreme neophiles, this does need to be addressed. I know people are really expensive, but perhaps a small strike-team that just TPs from infohub to infohub all day, addressing the most glaring problems, would change the culture?