What's the difference between "Contexts" in CTools/Panels and in Context module? I've been wondering this for a while and always assumed they were different things, but the fact that the Context module uses CTools for its Plugin API kinda confuses me even more...

Can someone please break it down for me please? Thanks!
This is essentially a duplicate of Panels or Context module?. However, Lullabot has a pretty good breakdown on the differences, and at the end of the day, it comes down to a matter of preference (I personally tend to go with Context).