Same quandry here.  My 20 yr old film camera took a dump right before a major trip and I am trying to learn all this stuff ASAP.  I do lots of nature (distance and closeups) so really like the mega zoom and wide angle option.  Also told higher megapixels will yield better landscape pics. I do miss viewfinders since watching the LCD will eat up the battery life.  Also concerned with the flash being a pop-up style on some.  Just something to break off while ziplining between trees etc.  Also some cameras use the non-SD type cards.  Another thing I was told was high-speed cards for faster picture taking.  Too many things to understand for non-electronics folks.

SX100 is one of my choices along with Panasonic Lumix TZ5 (wide angle).  Sony dials were too confusing.  Kodak has some nice easy to understand buttons too. on the Z812.