Because there are so many options, it's hard to make the best decision when purchasing a digital camera. Factors such as size, quality and even color all play their part. So, which type of camera is right for you?

Unfortunately, the answer is that it depends on what you're going to use it for.

If you want a camera that you can take around in your purse or jacket pocket, then a consumer grade point and shoot camera is a great option. These are compact and don't weigh very much. They generally have decent preset settings and make it possible for you to literally point and shoot.

If the size and weight of the camera isn't a problem and you're looking for a better photo in terms of size, color depth, and overall quality, then a DSLR is probably what you're looking for. DSLR cameras have a larger photo sensor than point and shoot cameras. This is important because each pixel is able to receive more light and data so the photo is rendered better. One example is that a photo is less grainy at higher ISO settings.

To put this into perspective, a 14MP consumer grade point and shoot claims to be able to make a good 16x20" print, while a 6MP DSLR shooting in RAW can produce a good print up to 30x40". Why? Because the sensor is more than 4 times larger in the DSLR.

And, of course, the DSLR is able to change lenses for a variety of different situations such as telephoto lenses for sports or wildlife shots, large aperture lenses for low light shots, or macro lenses for closeups of insects, flowers, or other small objects.

The downside is that these cameras are a lot heavier and bulkier, especially when factoring in the weight of the lenses. This can be a problem for spur of the moment shots or when hiking for miles. In the case of the wildlife photographer, special backpacks are available to pack lenses and camera equipment for protection and to help distribute the weight more evenly.

A drawing tablet is a computer input device, similar to a keyboard or mouse, that makes it possible for people to draw graphics, pictures, and use programs that need more sensitivity than a typical mouse. They are also referred to as a digitizer, digitizing tablet, graphics pad, or graphics tablet. The device consists of two items: a pen and a pad.  When the pen touches the pad, the motion and amount of pressure applied is captured by the computer and is displayed in the computer program such as Photoshop or Illustrator. Because it renders the amount of pressure, the program is able to determine how light or dark the line is to be displayed and, in certain instances, the thickness of the line. Often, the 'eraser' side of the pen also acts as an eraser with the tablet.

Beyond the art industry, tablet technology has reached the point of sale industry as well. Many businesses are using modified tablets to record signatures for received deliveries, credit cards, checking in at hotels or at the dentist's office, etc.

Smudged graphite drawings are a thing of the past; however, it does take a little getting used to.  The line doesn't show up below the pen anymore. It shows up on the screen.

Wacom is perhaps the most popular drawing tablet vendor; however, there are many available options such as Tooya, PenPower, and VisTablet.

An e-book reader is a mobile electronic device used to read books and periodicals. They are also called e-readers or e-book devices. While any device that is capable of displaying text on a screen can act as an e-reader, only the ones with the e-paper technology are technically consider one. These are specialized devices that are geared towards making it easy to read books using an electronic device. Careful consideration has been placed on available fonts, unit's weight, battery usage and overall readability.

Current research suggests that these types of devices are more popular with the older generations, possibly because they simulate real books more closely.

Amazon Kindle leads the market with 48% (as of Q4 of 2010), followed by Barnes and Noble Nook, Pandigital, Hanvon, and Sony Reader.

For around $100, current Kindle models have a 6" screen and weigh less than 6 ounces. For approximately twice the price, the Barnes and Noble Nook is available. The Nook is more like a tablet PC than an e-book reader. It uses a color touch screen, can play interactive games, and weighs about 16 ounces. It requires more battery power than the Kindle, which uses very little battery power because of its use of e-paper technology.

GPS stands for the Global Positioning System, which is a navigational system based on 24 different satellites originally intended for military use. These satellites where placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense; however, in the 1980s, the government made the system available for regular civilians to use.

Each GPS satellite transmits a signal to Earth indicating the current time along with its current position in the sky.  GPS devices take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. Basically, the GPS receiver compares the time from the signal to the current time, takes the difference of these two times, and uses that to calculate the distance between the device and the satellite.

It does this for 3-4 or more satellites. This way, the device is able to determine, within a few meters, the exact location of the device and then display the coordinates on the device's map. If it's connected to 3 satellites, it can determine latitude and longitude. If it's connected to 4 or more, it can also determine altitude. 

Once it knows the position of the device, it can then compare positions of where the device was in the past. This is used to determine speed, bearing, trip distance, etc.  For example, a mountain biker at the top of the mountain can find out what their average speed was when they reach the bottom based on how long it took and the distance traveled.  They can also determine the elevation change between the top and bottom.  Many devices also allow the user to upload their trip so that they can see it on an interactive map.

GPS works around the world, 24 hours a day, and it also works during any type of weather conditions.  There are no subscription fees to use the system, although vendors may have subscriptions for add-on services such as cloud storage to keep a log of many different trips taken.

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the short term memory for a computer or electronic device. When a program is loaded, information is taken from the hard drive and placed into the computer's memory so that it is ready for the processor to work with.

Most computers have 2-4 RAM slots, and each computer accepts a specific type of RAM based on the slot size and other characteristics. Sometimes computer memory cards are referred to as sticks because their shape is similar to a stick of gum: long, flat, and thin. Each stick of RAM has a different, and ever increasing, measurement of how much memory it can store. It wasn't too long ago that RAM could only hold a few MB, but today, it's common for RAM to hold several GB.

Regardless of the specific amount of memory each stick can hold, it is usually less than the total capacity of the computer's hard drive (except in cases where the computer does not have a hard drive though those specific cases are beyond the scope of this article), and more than the memory connected directly to the computer's processor (often referred as CPU cache or L2 cache). RAM is much far faster than the typical hard drive but slower than the CPU cache.

When the computer is turned off, all of the data stored inside RAM is erased, which is why computers have hard drives - for permanent storage even though they're many times slower than the computer's memory.

In certain cases, the quickest and cheapest way to increase the overall speed of a computer is to add more memory. If the sum of the memory required by all of the programs that are currently running on the computer exceed the total amount of available RAM, the computer will start to "swap" memory, which means it will move some of the data to and from the hard drive. This is a time consuming process and is eliminated by either closing down enough programs so the computer needs less RAM for the moment, or by adding additional memory to the computer. If a program is simply installed, but not running, it is not loaded into memory and therefore does not affect the amount of RAM needed.

Sometimes programs have what is known as a memory leak. Internet Explorer and Firefox are notorious for various memory leaks. On Windows, check your task manager or on Linux and Macs, check your system monitor, top, or ps to see which programs are loaded into RAM. If the amount of RAM is much higher than when you first loaded the program, chances are this is the case. Simply restarting the program can be a temporary fix especially if it takes several hours to notice the slowdown. In these cases, make sure you have the latest version in case the issue has been fixed, and make sure your software vendor is aware of the problem.