samba share problems in linux vs windows

[gs3user007]

I've been a long time user of vlc in windows. I've starting using it under kubuntu now, and I'm having a few issues. Most of my media is stored on a central server, and is shared over my router using samba. So here are my issues:

a) I can't add files from a samba share to a playlist. On windows I happily drag and drop them into the playlist window and they queue up. Why can't I do this in linux?
b) When I go to play a movie or other media file over the samba share, it first makes a local copy in /var/tmp/kdecache. In windows, it doesn't do this. This causes a rather annoying delay, especially when the file is a dvd image. Is there a way to disable this and just let it stream over the network?