From my experience, the Kodak didgitals released thusfar really aren't all that great. And the software for the PC is worse. Large, obtrusive and tough for non-PC geeks to handle properly.
I agree, and I think the best camera for those starting out in the digital camera field is probably the Canon PowerShot A75, which takes excellent pictures for a 3.2-megapixel camera and uses commonly-available rechargeable AA batteries and CompactFlash memory cards. 
Also, the PowerShot A75 offers quite a lot of flexibility in picture taking modes, too.
You have to be kidding me. I can't imagine anything easier than the Kodak Easyshare system. I put the camera on the dock and press a button. It transfers everything to the pc. And while it sits in the dock, it charges the battery. I love it.
Can the software. Just use it like a drive and copy/paste/delete as needed.