Now for the tips:
-Turn off the flash while indoors. Your people pictures will look very colorful and nice.
-Force the flash on when outdoors. This will provide some nice fill flash and your people pictures will have their faces exposed nicely.
-Use the spot metering and focusing mode. Point the center crosshairs at what you want to focus and meter upon and then recompose your shot while holding the shutter button down halfway.
-When shooting at an event, keep the clam shell case open. The camera resets to full auto mode every time you close it. So, set it once and then just leave it open, sliding it into a shirt pocket or something. This way, it remains set and ready all night.
I don't recommend any of the Stylus Epic models with the zoom feature. They all have inferior lenses and the lens is too slow, except for casual picture taking in bright light. If you want closer, take a few steps up.
Yes, there are smaller and arguably "cuter" cameras out there (the Elph comes to mind), but keep in mind that they are all APS format cameras! APS, as we know, is a giant leap down from 35mm.