hot plug usb question

hi, I have two questions regarding hot-plugging usb flash devices: 1) May I unplug the device without unmounting it, and not have a problem... or must it be unmounted first? 2) When I right click on the usb drive icon in 'my computer' and click on the entry to 'safely remove' the drive, I receive a message that says only root may unmount the device. How do I setup the hotplug so that any user my unmount the device? Thanks. -- Kind regards, M Harris <><