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Memory Cards

The first accessory you'll need before you take a single picture with your Canon DSLR will be a compact flash memory card. It sounds like a simple task until you consider how many different brands, speeds, and sizes you can choose from. Hopefully this page will help you narrow things down to pick the right card for you.

Why not a Microdrive?
I, along with many others, would not recommend getting a microdrive simply because they are not as good for taking photos with. There is a much higher margin for error or mistakes with a microdrive than a flash card. A microdrive is basically a mini hard drive (similar to the ones you find in an iPod. Writing data rapidly to a microdrive is much slower than it is for writing to a flash memory card.

Brands
There are a number of compact flash manufacturers to choose from ranging from generics to to major trusted brands like Lexar and SanDisk. More often than not, the major brands will obviously have more reliability than the generics. When you're taking priceless shots, you probably don't want to risk losing pictures because your memory card is corrupted.

Speeds
Depending on what your needs are, the write speed will be very important to you. A photographer taking a rapid succession of shots (sports, etc.) will want a CF card that has a fast write speed. Rob Galbraith is a great resource for comparing the write speeds of cards in their respective Canon DSLR bodies:
Canon EOS Digital Rebel 300D
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT 350D
Canon EOS Digital 20D

Size
Depending on how many pictures you plan to take or if you'll be able to offload photos onto a hard-drive, you will need to decide on memory capacity. Memory prices are getting cheaper now and you can get a 1GB CF card for under $100. For the DSLRs it is probably a good idea to get a 1GB or more card.

Useful Reference Sites:
Bob Atkins Photography Primer on Compact Flash

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EOSrebels.com Memory Card Forum