DarthJDG: You're absolutely right. I remember when I first started playing I didn't know what to expect, I had no idea how long it would take to complete the quest, so the time limit was just an extra tension in the background to give you a sense of urgency rather than an actual exploration-limiting factor.
mimsi: Exactly! I'll admit that I almost caved in and bought Fallout 2 because I heard so many complaints about the time limit in 1, but then I realized all the people who were complaining were those who skipped Fallout 1 and only played 2 :-P
Which is ironic, since F2 <i>also</i> has a time limit! I think it's 13 years, and people complained about that too!
I agree with you completely though - I'm one of those who was initially disturbed by the time limit, since I don't like to rush through things, but in both games this is only an issue if you want to power-level your character to crazy heights as opposed to just doing the quests as you encounter them.
Actually it makes more sense to complain about this in F2, since it's possible to continue playing the game after you actually win it (to get more random encounters etc) - and I think the game totally stops at that point. But I've never had the urge to play that long...
Also agree with other posters here - buy F1 first, then you'll almost certainly buy F2 after that. This is what I did, and although F2 is definitely the better game due to better character management and more quests and more locations and less bugs (mostly), F1 has a darker (in my view better) atmosphere, and I'm glad I played it first.