I guess that Microsoft had to respond to Mac's IMovie program. The original MS MovieMaker program was way too simple but this new version 2 could work for many hobbyist folks. I own Premiere, Pinnacle and Vegas 3 but found myself having fun with the new Movie Maker 2 features. It even has "auto movie" you just pick the clips and it does the rest. I have plenty of PC XP using friends just starting the editing learning curve that this free program will be just perfect for.
Regards, John V.

From the MS site "Nearly 30 video effects. New attention-grabbing effects include the ability to make a video look older, show film grain and add sepia tone -- all available with no additions or plug-ins.
Sixty video transitions. Professional scene changes include a host of creative fades, wipes and other effects commonly used on television shows and in Hollywood.
More than 40 titles and credits. The titling and movie credit options are easy to apply and allow for custom layouts, motion paths and effects. The flexible offering of titles and credits lets users quickly and easily put the finishing touches on a movie, with titles that fly in, spin or appear as a ticker tape across the bottom of the screen."


http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/.

I just bought Sonic Foundry's Video Factory for my mother so she can edit her home vidz and still photos herself. Considering the price ($60 bucks) it's an extremely powerful little app. Basically, it's just a dumbed down version of Vegas. For what she wants to do, it's perfect. I played around with it a little bit today and I was quite impressed with it's stability and overall performance.

These days there are some great (easy and quick) programs avalible for home editing. We cheat and use Pinnacle Studio 7/8 even for paid projects. If we know that we'll need to burn a DVD as part of the deal Pinnacle Studio 8 makes it super easy. If someone out there is just wanting to start editing I'd suggest begining with the free Microsoft Movie Maker 2 -- (need to have XP and a fairly modern PC). That way they could learn all of the basics, cut, dissolve, clips and possibly be happy for a long time even with a free program.

Part of the risk of helping friends/family start editing is that they will choose a complex NLE and be overwhelmed with even doing basic editing projects. I've had friends and family that tried to jump into Premiere or even Vegas Video 3 and been totally turned off (it's a struggle even for us moderate users to keep up with the complex programs).

Regards, John V.

Actually I would recomend the route Jason took. Then when ready you can upgrade to the full version of VV3 for a great price.
hehehe.

Another option, order the Digital Video and Audio production guide from Sonic Foundry. It contains, Vegas Video LE, SoundForge XP and Acid Express. And they all work together.
Nice piece of kit for $50.00 US.