what are peers?
 

i'm a newbie at this and a little confused. on the connections window there are three ultrapeers listed and at the bottom of the page is a button labeled 'add'. does that mean i can add people to my list if i know their IP address?

This means you can connect to ultrapeers addresses you know. You have to be not connected completely and the ultrappeer has to get free leaves slots --- this means --- this is mostly for testing purposes, not for every day use.

Ciao