I'm a big fan of both sports, but I don't know where I should start. I've taken some ski lessons, I've had friends give me their snowboards, etc, but I want more than that. What kind of equipment should I take? What "secrets" should I know about? Any help will be wildly appreciated.

If you are new to both, I vote for snowboarding. Starting off, first few times, on a snowboard is much harder then skiing. Expect several days of falling on your ass or pulling the scorpion pose. But after the initial pain it is easier to progress with snowboarding. Skiing is easier to pick up but harder to get good at. DO not buy gear right out the door. First, pick skiing or boarding, then rent some gear till you get an idea of what you like and where you like to ride. With boarding you will want to start with a shorter board to learn. Then a little longer when you have it dialed in. Also, if you find out you love the park scene you will want to stick with a shorter board tha will be better on jibs and jumps. If you are more into all mountain you will want a loniger board to offer more stability while going fast. But just rent some stuff the first few times till you know what you like. Mix up the rental gear so you can try different boots and boards. With the boots the big diff is the stiffness of the boot and the lacing systems(I like Boas). Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Lucas

I was leaning towards snowboarding too. I guess I'll try some rental equipment first, see what happens, then go ahead an buy my own. I'll keep you posted, thanks for the reply!

Do you see yourself in the park or on the mountain down the road? You will want a little shorter more flexible board for the park and longer stiffer board for the mountain. If you see yourself doing both go with a all mountain oard like the Burton Custom. Think about these questions when renting a board so they get you going in the right direction. Also try renting a diff board each day. Boots too. Try a stiff pair then a softer pair. like the softer but my ankles start to hurt so I have toride stiffer.

Does it matter if it's real or artifical snow?

That has more to do with wax choices I would think. They make specific wax for specific temps.

Oh, I didn't know that. Thanks a lot.