What is that one should look for when buying a digital camera.?

Check out the buing guide at www.dpreview.com.

i like sony

megapixels the more the better

look for a quick shutter speed.

you want the highest amount of megapixels possible for the least amount of money!

the most megapixles for the least amount of money

Like other have said, megapixels - the higher the number the sharper your image can be displayed. [4 is considered excellent, but companies are now making 8 - so I don't know.]

My camera can also takes short moving pictures (video), for up to a minute. (You just move a knob to "movie", aim, and hold down the button until you want the video to stop.) VERY COOL to have (I think)!!

Batteries are expensive -- it may be wise to invest in a charger, use rechargeable batteries, and keep a few "regular" batteries as spares. Digital cameras use a lot of battery power - especially in doing the movies.

Check for computer and printer compatibility too.

Depending on what exactly you want your camera for:

1. Megapixels - anything above 4 (although I find more than 6 a bit excessive, your pictures end up being huge)

2. Screen Size - larger LCD or smaller

3. View finder or not - cameras without the viewfinder tend to use a lot more battery power and it means you can't just power it up, point and click, you have to wait for the LCD.

4. Battery type - rechargeable lithium or special batteries or does it take regular AA's. Special batteries can be expensive to replace when they stop holding charge, wheras regular AA can be purchased rechargeable or not and are always available.

5. Internal memory capacity - will it store some pictures without the requirement of a memory card? usually around 8MB+ internal is good.

Does it come with an extra memory card?

6. Camera size itself - Do you want something that will fit nicely in your pocket or something that will require a case. There are some extremely thin camera's, light weight (CASIO EXLIM and CANNON have some nice ones)

7. Zoom - optical or digital - optical means that the lense is actually zooming in, while digital means it's just zooming in on the image taken at the resolution of the picture itself. Personally I like to have both - but optical is much better if your going to blow pictures up and still want to maintain the resolution.

Although some people have mentioned the softare and type of interface used, most digital camera's are USB and if your using Windows XP the Camera wizard is all the software you'll need to download the pictures anyways - the included software should not be an issue.

Consumers guide has a buyer's guide that may help:
http://products.consumerguide.com/buying...

The last few are good things to look for. A good brand to check out is Pentax. (pentaximaging.com) Circuit City has some good deals on many cameras right now, including Pentax, but it may be ending today. (circuitcity.com)