You can place items in chests, cupboards, sacks of grain or other containers, or spread them around on the ground wherever you wish, and they will remain there. I avoided using barrels, since they are easy to smash if you are still in combat mode when you try to open them. Several of the houses in Aleroth have chests you can 'borrow'.
Early Starter Tips (NON-Spoiler Version)You can move/wave your mouse around systematically to look for levers, doors and other objects (a description will flash on screen when the mouse cursor is over something).
In the Display Properties advanced settings (right click on an open area of your desktop and select Properties, then switch to the Settings tab and click the Advanced button), are there any options to change the gamma / brightness / contrast? If not, check for updated video drivers, to see if that has been added.
There may also be a utility for your monitor to create custom colour profiles, for use in the Color Management tab of the advanced Display Properties (check the driver CD that came with the monitor, or the manufacturer's web site).
In addition to using the arrow keys to move the map around, you can also click the left mouse button and drag the map.
