Flip Cam

what's all the buzz surrounding the flip cam? Well here's a few reviews from Amazon.com.

"1. It couldn't be easier to take videos. You insert the batteries and press a button and you're filming.

2. You connect it to the computer by plugging it into the USB port. Software downloads to your computer, all very smoothly. The connection to the USB port is problematic. A USB connector pops out of the side of the camera, which is very elegant but doesn't work well in practice. I had to unplug another device to fit it into the available slot next door. It's kind of like having one of those big plugs taking up so much room on a power strip. I've already ordered an extension for it.

3. The editing software is very basic. This is to be expected. This is supposed to be a quick, point-and-shoot device that takes basic video that can quickly be shared on the web. Which is a great idea. But here's the thing: you can edit a video from either end, ending it earlier or starting it later. But you can't crop out a part in the center. Is that insane? Now, you can make copies of a movie and then take the beginning part of one and the ending part of another. It's inelegant but possible, right? And there is a "movie-making" feature that allows you to mesh these two movies together...except that you can only save the product if you're in Windows. With Mac you can't save it, so it's useless for posting the amalgam on the web. As far as I can see, at least.

4. Quality seems okay for the purpose. Looks good on my computer, at least.

So in short if you're going to take very short videos that you don't intend to edit and post them on YouTube, this works well. Though I have to say, it isn't super speedy. While I've been writing this my computer has been processinga three-minute video for posting online, and it's only gotten through about 5% of it so far."

So, apparently this device is ideal for youtube users.Sounds like fun!