- The specs and manual are here and here.
- The memory stick is for still photos only. The resolution is ok, not great. I've never been a big fan of camcorders for photos, but in a pinch it will do. The key is the Zeiss optics; don't discount them, optics generally can make an ok camera great
- Here's a PC magazine article on free editing resources for the PC
- I'm a mac guy, and if you're not I'll say I really wish you were. The mac has free movie software called iMovie that's really easy and really powerful. I created a produced a spot for a very famous singer years ago using only iMovie that she used all over the world. It's legitimate software, and it recognizes most video cameras automatically
- The camera has a FireWire output (aka. IEEE1394 or iLink). FireWire and USB duked it out many years ago; FireWire won the consumer and pro video and data transfer markets and is standard on the mac. I think all macs have Firewire built in. USB got everything else. USB's are standard on the mac too, for peripherals. The way I understand it, the USB requires a powersource at the connection for most data-intensive hookups; the advantage of firewire is the the power requirements at the cord are less and so the data transfer is faster (or something). SO, if you don't have a FireWire card for your PC you'll need to get one. They're not expensive; they can be internal or external. NOTE: there are 3 firewire standards. FireWire 400 is old-school and comparable to USB. You'll want to take your camera to the store when you buy the cable to make sure you get the right cable; note the speed of your computer's firewire connection so you get the right cable. Here's a 
. photo of a FW 400 connector. In that image, the part that connects to your camera (pretty much the standard connector for video) is on the right)
- You'll be shooting onto MiniDV tape, then hooking the camera to the computer. The editing software that you choose should recognize the camera and allow you to control it when it's in VCR (as opposed to recording mode). In the software, you'll specify an "in" point on the tape, and an "out" point, and then you'll tell the software to capture that video onto your hard drive. It transfers 'real time', so if you select your in point and your out point is an hour later in the tape, it takes an hour to capture - Once the video is in the computer, it works alot like a word processor; you can cut and paste the video, add titles and effects, play with the sound, etc. The sky is the limit. My professional advice is that a little bit of glitz goes a very long way; less is more - A couple of points on the tape: MiniDV tapes can be had online for about $3 each. They're cheap and reliable. That said, I only ever shoot on SONY tape. Don't be tempted by inexpensive tape-- you'll get a crease or dropout on your kid's piano recital and you'll curse. SONY tape, blue package, nothing else. Trust me.
- Practice holding the camera steady, or buy a tripod. There's a reason pros always use a tripod-- it makes the video 100% better - Private reply to me if you need more info or clarification