Is there any way to add items to collections without the entire list of all the items on the device showing up to sort through? I also noticed that there is no longer a "collections,json" file anywhere and I'm guessing that there is no longer any indicator of how much available space you have on the device either. My 2nd gen Kindle had an indicator in the top task bar that always showed how much space I had used but there seems to be no way of figuring that out on the new paperwhite and trying to find ANY information on the real ins and outs of this device is next to impossible . And, can someone tell me what the folders with an "sdr" file extension are for that show up in the documents folder? I was confused by those. Some of them have nothing in them, some of them have book files in them and they appear to be for the handful of books that I managed to download to the device manually before I just copied everything over. 
Sorry you're getting frustrated! To take your points in no particular order:
To see how much space you have left on the device press menu-->settings-->device options-->menu-->device info
When adding books to your collections you don't need to swipe across the whole page to turn it and risk accidentally checking one of the boxes at the side - just use a small swipe in the middle of the screen.
Because of the time and power required for indexing books when they're first put on the device, it's best not to put more than a hundred or so on at one time - let them index first before you put more on.
To put books onto the device quickly, go to the home page, tap on 'cloud' and make sure the filter says all items (or you can do books and personal docs separately if you wish) and then just tap on the books one by one to download them to the device - you don't have to wait for one to finish before tapping the next.
Transfer your books first and then import your collections (which you can do as many times as you like). Personal docs which you put on your original Kindle via USB can just be copied over via your PC and USB. Any sent via Amazon will need to be downloaded like books as the files will be device specific.
I have no idea what the folders and file extensions you mention are, since I've had no need to look at my PW's 'innards' in that way.
There is a certain amount of patience required to get your new Kindle up and running in the same way as your old one, especially if you want all your stuff actually on the device and not just available via the cloud, but it really is worth it. I had a Kindle 2 (and a 3 and a Touch!) but the PW is definitely the superior model so far released and so I think you need to just take a deep breath and do what needs to be done. You'll have to upgrade eventually and I doubt it will be any easier to do later rather than sooner.
Good luck!
To see how much space you have left on the device press menu-->settings-->device options-->menu-->device info
When adding books to your collections you don't need to swipe across the whole page to turn it and risk accidentally checking one of the boxes at the side - just use a small swipe in the middle of the screen.
Because of the time and power required for indexing books when they're first put on the device, it's best not to put more than a hundred or so on at one time - let them index first before you put more on.
To put books onto the device quickly, go to the home page, tap on 'cloud' and make sure the filter says all items (or you can do books and personal docs separately if you wish) and then just tap on the books one by one to download them to the device - you don't have to wait for one to finish before tapping the next.
Transfer your books first and then import your collections (which you can do as many times as you like). Personal docs which you put on your original Kindle via USB can just be copied over via your PC and USB. Any sent via Amazon will need to be downloaded like books as the files will be device specific.
I have no idea what the folders and file extensions you mention are, since I've had no need to look at my PW's 'innards' in that way.
There is a certain amount of patience required to get your new Kindle up and running in the same way as your old one, especially if you want all your stuff actually on the device and not just available via the cloud, but it really is worth it. I had a Kindle 2 (and a 3 and a Touch!) but the PW is definitely the superior model so far released and so I think you need to just take a deep breath and do what needs to be done. You'll have to upgrade eventually and I doubt it will be any easier to do later rather than sooner.
Good luck!
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