Thom Hogan is a well known and respected figure among the photographic community, and a virtual legend to Nikon owners all over the world for his knowledge, and extensive reviews of anything and everything Nikon.
Here's a gem of an article he just wrote bemoaning the absence of decent compact digital cameras, and putting forth specifications needed in such cameras. I hope camera companies listen!
I've been studying every compact digital camera there is....tempted by the Leica models (too expensive), confused by Panasonic (is it a Leica or not?), repulsed by the latest Canon offering (no RAW),...etc. so what Thom says resonates with me, and will resonate with anyone with the same predicament: what compact digital camera can be a decent backup to a pro SLR system?
Here's the article on compact cameras from Thom Hogan's website.