Cloth Diapering?

Okay, so my mom used cloth diapers with all four of us, and they survived. But when I had my daughter, I never even thought of using cloth diapers, nor did I think they were even a viable option. You see what I had envisioned was the old fashioned ones that were folded and pinned on. I had visions of constant leaking, accidently stabbing my baby's belly with a safety pin while changing her, and pretty much endless laundry.
What I learned with her as a newborn was that the laundry was always going to be endless from birth through potty training and beyond. So what's another load or two. After about a year and a half in pampers followed by another year of on and off use of pull-ups training pants, I can't stand the thought of wasting that much money again. And am firmly convinced that many of our potty training hardships were a result of disposable diapers and training pants, because why would she use the potty when she was perfectly dry in a diaper or pull-up and knew she would be cleaned and changed immediately? The only way we ever got her to use the potty in any kind of consistency was to let her go without underwear or anything on her bottom (fortunately she likes wearing dresses, so we wore a lot of them through this period :).






I know, I'm not due with this baby until March 2011, but I feel like I need to get this decided early for a couple of reasons.
#1. Cloth diapers are initially expensive (especially the cute covers), though they should pay for themselves within the first 3-4 months.
#2. If we are going to use cloth diapers, which I know very little about, much research as to the best kinds and how to's will have to be done.
#3. I will have to completely sell my husband on the idea of no disposable diapers at all (even though I will be the primary diaper changer).
#4. I will have to make a serious commitment to cloth diapering. I don't want to spend the money and then wimp out and buy a pack of pampers.

I am admittedly quite ignorant of the whole thing, and am in need of guidance from someone who's been there. There's so much info out there and no way to look at it all, so if you are even a remote expert in this area, any input or advice will be greatly appreciated. :)