Evening DC, soz for late reply, just picked up on this post.
As I like your ‘unconvential’ trains of thought, I decided to write up a proper reply for once. Lol.
Why do you want to buy a dSLR?
For the available budget, I could easily advice you to consider a bridge like one of the CANON PowerShot SX series or NIKON Coolpix P series, or even the Canon PowerShot G10 will all get you great still images. And they give you good versatility and reasonable image quality (read: good for 1024pix web images). More:
http://www.pixmania..../criteresn.html Again, why do you want to buy a dSLR?
But it looks like you have your mind set on a dSLR. One of the first pieces of advice I got from pro-photographer friend when I first started shooting (mind you only a year+ ago!) is to buy entry-level body and invest a little in a proper lens. Lens discussion should be separate post, do you want zoom or fixed focal, do you want macro, what aperture, etcetera. But I strongly suggest considering this in budgeting for a starter set up. Go for a body and buy a seperate lens. Invest equal in lens.
I can go ahead and reiterate what can be found online in terms of advising on buying a proper entry-level body + lens, but I’d prefer to refer you to
http://www.dpreview....g_guide_01.htm. This will explain you all you need to know for making decision , and choices, when buying a dSLR. Ultimately it will be up to you which one to get considering the usage you foresee.
Ofc I would advise you the 1000D or 500D as entry-level dLSR:
http://www.dpreview....on_eos1000d.asp ,
http://www.dpreview....on_eos500d.asp. But then I am Canon.
Go here for review
Sony and Nikon:
http://www.dpreview....iews/specs.asp. You’ll notice very little difference between the entry-levels of Canon,
Sony and Nikon apart from censor and processor.
Don’t worry about pixels, unless youre planning of creating poster size pictures.
If you want to stabilize anything, get an image stabilizer on the lens, not the body. Come one.
Depending on if you choose to shoot jpeg or raw, software that comes with the camera will allow you to do basic editing. If you're leaning more towards digital editing then get lightroom or capture one, if you want to become a digital artist get photoshop
Dont worry about UI (user interface), they are all pretty much idiot proof these days. If your a bit tech-savy you'll be fine. Just read the manual.
Don’t stair blindly on having a flip screen neither, you want to shoot optical straight away. Absolutely no use in getting a dSLR and handling it like a compact camera. Again, if you are really serious about a flip screen consider a bridge.
Right, that is the machine. The machine will only do what you tell it to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Just getting a dSLR won’t get you v.far IMHO. Two things I was adviced when I started.
Start shooting AV or M straight away and learn to balance shutterspeed, aperture and ISO in combination with available light, either true light or flash. Get an external Flash too straight away, even in daylight you will want to use it for portraits. Now don’t go run to the nearest photo academy to get an expensive course, visit
http://morguefile.com/docs/Classroom, that is where the real magic happens.
Re. composition and capturing the right moment and pose, I can’t advise, that is the fun bit (read: your creativity). You either have it , or you don't. I am sure you do. I do look v.much at some of my favorite photographers and see how they compose their shots, what their styles are and try to mix that with my own ideas.
Hope this helps ...
, lol). even if your shooting jpeg M or L you'll still want to go for a 4GB card, they're not too expensive, and better to stock up if you plan to do lots of shooting. i'd advice at first instance just shoot jpeg, get 2x4GB (one for some touristy shots, one for some more naughty captures, lol), and don't bother about any post-production work (you need to learn to shoot proper pictures first). 
