I’ve tried every one of these units since they first came out three years ago and each version is better, smaller and more useful than the previous one. There’s now even one that does HD.

One of the latest versions, dubbed the mino for its diminutive size, came out just recently. On its first day, it was the top-selling camcorder on Amazon. That’s how popular these little gizmos have become and how loyal a user base they’ve garnered.

I did a very quick self-shot video with the new mino, showing some of its features. Here it is:

In size, the mino is smaller, lighter (3.3 ounces) and thinner than the previous Flip model, about as thick and tall as an iPhone but a bit narrower. The 1.5-inch color screen is a tad smaller than earlier models, a necessary trade-off for the reduced size of the new package.

Another change: The USB connector flips up from the top, rather than the side as on previous models, making it easier to insert into a computer. And instead of replaceable batteries, the mino has rechargeable batteries that charge directly from the computer, like an iPod. It takes about four hours to completely charge.

The new unit has kept the Flip’s so-simple-your-don’t-need-to-read-the-instructions operational controls, this time replacing the tactile buttons of earlier units with touch- sensitive controls on the back that light up when it’s turned on.

The unit loads software directly into the PC or Mac. You don’t need to run a separate CD or DVD. And the mino works really well with the Mac, something the previous models didn’t do. In fact, when I plugged the mino into my iMac, I was pleasantly surprised to see it opened iPhoto and allowed me to directly import the videos into that application. From there, Mac users can then bring them them into Final Cut Express or Pro or iMovie, if they want to do fancy editing.

But the built-in Flip software is pretty good. You can edit start and end points directly from it, string a bunch of clips into a movie, send and post directly to YouTube, MySpace and AOL Video or send a Flip vid as an e-mail attachment.

The 2GB of flash memory holds an hour’s worth of flash video, recorded in as many clips as you want. It lists for $179, but can be found cheaper online

Here’s a quick overview on what software is available.

Video editing is all drop and drag. If you know how to use a word processor, you can video edit. You plug your camcorder into your computer, import your clips and compose your projects on a timeline. You can add text overlays, import still pictures, and then export to the Web or burn to a DVD.

There are scores of video editing packages out there and i have some suggestions for you.

Windows users get Movie Maker free on their machines. Apple Mac users have iMovie as part of Apple’s iLife suite of programs. Both of these are basic, but pretty powerful, enough to certainly get you started well.

But it doesn’t take much experience with video editing to make you want more.

For Windows users, there are higher end packages that do some pretty amazing things. Pinnacle Studio starts at $49. The latest Version 12 lets you start off fast and easy by selecting from various professionally inspired themes. just drag and drop your video clips and still images to preview your movie - complete with Hollywood style multi-layered effects, animated graphics, titles and Hi-Fi audio.

I found a special code that will allow you to get a 10% discount. Just go here to download it and at checkout, enter the code 12STUD10 and it will take 10% off the cost.

If you have a high def camera, you’ll want the $99 Studio Plus package. To get the 10% off on this, enter the code 12STPL10. Studio Ultimate costs $129 and does HD with some special tools to give your videos a great look. It’s 10% discount code is 12STUL10.

One of the reasons I really like Pinnacle products is that Pinnacle Systems is a division of Avid, which is well known as the industry leader in video editing software and used by most TV stations and networks. They know video editing very well and their consumer products reflect that standard of excellence that makes them the choice of most broadcast professionals.

For Mac users, A great step up from iMovie is Final Cut Express. It costs $199. Just click here to go th=o the Apple store online and then search for Final Cut Express.

Then there’s professional packages: Adobe makes a very powerful video editing package called Premiere that works on PCs and Mac. It’s expensive… around $800. But that’s still cheaper than Apple’s top of the line Final Cut Studio. It costs almost $1300.

But you don’t need all those bells and whistles. The under $200 consumer packages from Pinnacle and Apple are easy to use and great fun. In just a matter of minutes, you can produce professional looking video clips easily, without high tech editing equipment.

Now, what to do with your videos? For starters, put it on the Web. Its pretty easy with video sharing sites like YouTube. But sometimes the videos you post are so huge that they’re too big or time-consuming to send over to post. And if you have your own Web site or blog, you’d like to be able to directly embed your video.

The solution to shrinking the videos down is compressing and converting your home made videos to a more Web-friendly format is the solution. One such program that does this is called Easy Web Video. It takes your standard .mov, .wmv or .avi format videos and converts them to flash, which can be viewed on any browser.

Tier 2 players and older models (6-9 months) are now widely available under $200. Amazon is offering a Samsung model bundled with four discs for that price. Holiday season prices may be in the $150-200 range. All of this runs counter to many of the industry’s original market forecasts and expectations.

“Blu-ray vendors and dealers are starting to realize that for Blu-ray to become the next DVD, they need to lower player prices in order to generate interest and build volumes,” comments ABI Research principal analyst Steve Wilson.

“They are also getting more competition than they expected from download alternatives such as Xbox 360 and the Roku Netflix player, TiVo and Amazon. However downloads provide an opportunity as well as a threat: both LG and Samsung have concluded agreements with Netflix that allow some of their players to download movies and TV shows straight from Netflix.

“The more the Blu-ray players adopt these download capabilities, the better they will be able to differentiate themselves from standard DVD players.”

At the start of every season, you need get rid of the Adware and Spyware. All it takes is a few months for all sorts of needless software to sneak into your computer, gunk that is secretly installed by questionable websites to snoop on your privacy, deliver you unwanted ads and generally clog and clutter your computer.

The problem is… a lot of software that pretends to SOLVE the problem, also causes it. We’re talking abut a huge problem. Attacks on applications, incidents of malware, and unwanted software installations account for 90 percent of the vulnerabilities of most PCs, according to a just-released Microsoft Security Intelligence Report.

The 150-page report says the amount of malware and junk software removed from computers increased 43 percent in the first half of 2008. Some 30% of that junk and malware was Trojan-based, usually in the form of a computer worm or virus disguised as another application that erases data, corrupts files, and reinstalls itself after being disabled.

So how do you find that junk and get rid of it?

Just do a Google search and you’ll find lots of malware and junk removal tools. However, some readers and posters have reported problems with some of these various programs, so before shelling out any money, I’d look them over carefully. I’ve taken down some I recommended earlier. Even though I had no problems, I’ll let you decide for yourself. There are simply too many junkware removal products —literally hundreds of them! - for anyone to personally check each one out.
I appreciate reader feedback and suggestions.

For a junk software removal package that IS safe and effective, I recommend , Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware tool. It throughly removes even the most advanced malware, spyware and junk programs that really clog your machine. And it has a proactive feature that blocks malware processes befpre they can even start.

The malwarebytes.or site also has a list of hundreds of what it claims “rogue” programs that masquerade as junk removal software but really create problems or do little to help. Many of these rogue programs return false positives during their free scan to lure the user into buying the product. So before installing any removal software, make sure it is NOT on the list.

But Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware package, at $24.95, will clean your machine and not clutter it. You can download it here and immediately put it to work

Three other programs I’ve used that also help and have good reputations are Ad-Aware from Lavasoft, Spybot Search and Destroy, and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009.

Again, there are many, many tools you can get online that claim to do these important tasks. Most offer free trial versions. But before you run any tool that removes anything, make a backup of any file that you are going to change. That way, if something goes wrong, you can easily restore your files and start over.

Here’s another very important thing: How’s your virus protection?

Worms, malicious programs and trojans are continuing problems. Microsoft has a very handy free offer going with its new Windows Live OneCare protection package for the PC. You can try the whole package for three months at no cost. OneCare provides anti-virus and anti-spyware filtering and screening, online ID protection, a firewall, printer sharing and multi-PC management features.

If you want to try Windows Live OneCare free for 90 days just click here to download the free trial.