Storage
What does the camera use to store images with? If it uses a memory stick, make sure you consider buying additional sticks when you get your camera. A typical 8 meg memory stick that comes with a 2 megapixel camera only holds 5 or 6 images at the camera's best quality.

Some cameras use a 3.5 inch disk for storage. Be careful of these! Although it may sound like a good idea, a 3 megapixel camera at high resolution produces a 1 meg file (compressed!). That's only 1 picture per disk.

To transfer the image from the camera's memory card to your computer, the camera is normally connected to the computer via either the serial port or the USB port. The only exception to this is if the camera uses a 3.5 inch floppy disk to store the images, in which case you can just put the disk into your floppy drive and transfer the image just like any other file.

Serial Output
An outgoing connector compatible with virtually all PCs and beige (pre-iMac) Macintoshes, making serial connections the most universal of transfer formats. However, it's much slower than USB.

USB (universal serial bus) Output
An outgoing connector compatible with virtually all PCs made since 1998 and all "colorful" Macs. A USB port is much quicker and more user-friendly than a serial port, but it is also a more recent innovation not found on older computers.