DV Info Net - Suggestions Please: On buying a new editing system

If your friend just wants to get his/her feet wet without have to fight the computer as much, I suggest a Mac Mini + iMovie or Final Cut Express.
iMovie: incredibly, incredibly easy. But it is buggy with large/complex projects, so anything 100+ cuts shouldn't be started in iMovie. iMovie projects dont work in FCE that well, so it's not that simple to move between programs.
FCE: Like Final Cut Pro minus stuff you don't really need.

There's nothing wrong with getting a light/cheap system since computers and software lose value really quickly. Better more expensive systems (i.e. dual processor G5 + FCP) will lose more of their value.

With the Mac mini, it may make sense to install 512 or 1GB of RAM yourself through crucial.com (to save money, because apple charges a lot more). RAM installation may be a little tricky for it... do find instructions first. The hard part is figuring out how to do the physical part of installing the RAM.

Caveat: A mac mini will be quite a bit slower than some of the other editing systems available. But really, you can make amazing movies just doing cuts and dissolves without any special FX.
I don't think a mac mini will handle HDV that well (but I've never tried).

2- Best value editing system in my opinion:
Vegas 6 on a PC you kind of build yourself.

Vegas 6 will run on just about anything, and there's nothing tricky about hardware requirements. It's very powerful and will likely do anything you want it to do (audio, color correction, simple/mid-level compositing). In terms of performance, it'll run circles around the mac mini and the toolset is more powerful.

Your probably want DVD architect too to author DVDs.

As for the PC: If you can build one yourself, get a good deal on a Dell Dimension 9100 and throw in your own upgrades (Dells' are overpriced). 512MB or 1GB RAM, more hard drive space, DVD burner.

dell.com (US only) --> small business --> outrageous deals. Look for free shipping. Deals vary from week to week, and you may be able to get a better deal another way (i.e. try hot deals sites). The upgrade to a dual core processor is worth looking at.

3- Does your friend qualify for academic discounts?