If you haven't seen this site, you should. By spending time with the "learn" section, their reviews and links you can develop your knowledge pretty quickly. I've alos found that digital cameras are great to learn and experiment with as there is no "risk" and immediate feedback; contrast this to film SLR's where every experiment costs you a development charge and frequently, unless you take great notes about what the settings were for which photo, impossible to remember what you did from what shot to the next. Good luck and have a good time.
http://www.dpreview.com/