> I'm learning what a switcher is and how can I use it in my design... The
> only thing I know about LDO is that they are low drop out, but I have no
> idea what that means exactly.

The "drop out voltage" is the input voltage below which the regulator
doesn't.  It's pretty subjective what makes a regulator LDO, and the
definition of "not regulating" is pretty loose, too.  However, each part
will have those pieces of information specified on the datasheet, usually
with a cute little plot showing what happens to the output voltage as the
input voltage decreases, with multiple lines each depicting a different
current draw.

Mike H.
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