Which online brokerage firm should I use

[CrAz3D]

I'm lookin at Charles Schwab (friend has it, likes it and I've explored some), but am open to all suggestions.

ETrade is looking decent (I'm a beginner, some places point beginners to ETrade), but I wonder about their quarterly $40 fee (exceptions: https://us.etrade.com/e/t/estation/pricing?id=1206010000#AAF )
I guess if I buy/sell at least once a month, or get a money market acct, I dont owe the fee?  hmm.

Charles Schwab has no fees, but minimum initial balance of $1000, or $100/month deposit, or I can sign up for a checking acct...?
Stock Broker Account Fees & Minimums: Charles Schwab

Checking acct link:
Checking Account: Schwab Bank: Investor Checking Accounts

All this online crap scares me.  I dont want to end up paying $100/month for floating around a few hundred dollars to begin with (I'm young).




Really, all I want to do right now is to easily trade (buy) some stocks when I want to (e.g. Ford would be decent to buy now since it's down/Bear Stearns would've been a great day trade when it crashed, only for JP Morgan[?] to buy it for $10 per share)

[Hitmen]

I know nothing about this but have a friend who makes a lot of money in stocks, the website he uses is http://www.scottrade.com
He's tried to get me to do it a few times but I don't have the kind of money floating around he does, heh. $500 to open an account and $7/trade, no other fees

[CrAz3D]

I'll look at that too.