In order to successfully upload videos you will need a free account at one of the sites that the Flip camera interfaces with so if you don't already have one, please click on one fo the following links and register for at least one account. If you want to add your videos to your own website or blog, I would suggest registering for YouTube (it's what I use here on this site).

You will, of course, need a DVD burner. This may well be built into your computer, but if not you can buy external DVD burners reasonably cheaply and just plug it into your computer. You'll also need a blank DVD to transfer the video onto.

To burn the DVD you'll need to open up some media software which you should have on your computer. Most Windows-based computers come with Windows Media Player included free of charge but I personally like to use Real Player (available free from Real.com).

All you do is open the video you'd like to put onto DVD, then select the "burn to DVD" option, and your computer will start burning it onto the disc. And that's all there is to it.

The Flip camera of course comes with software built in that allow for automatic upload of videos to MySpace and YouTube and it's YouTube that I suggest you use to display videos on your website.

The process is to upload your video to YouTube, then use the code provided by YouTube to display that video on your site.

The real benefits of doing things in this way are that firstly displaying video uses up a lot of bandwidth. If you were hosting the video yourself it would cost you quite a bit to display it. By hosting it at YouTube, they pay for the bandwidth rather than you.

Secondly you then have YouTube linking to your site if you add a link in the video description which will help to increase your search engine rankings (and hence the number of visitors your site should get).

Finally embedding a YouTube video into your site couldn't be much simpler or easier and so no special software of technical wizardry are required to get a very decent-looking video to appear on your site.

The new Flip camera is a super-simple, small and lightweight video camera or camcorder that will allow you to easily record up to an hour of video on the built-in memory and then easily upload this video to your computer for editing, burning onto a DVD for the future or posting to the Internet.

This whole site is all about the Flip camera so why not take a look around to learn everything there is to know about these nifty new bits of kit.

The Flip video camera has two buttons on it's sides - one on the left-hand side opens up a compartment at the top out of which the USB plug comes. So in essence, when you're ready to plug your Flip video camera into your computer and download your videos, you just press this button, then plug the camera into your computer using the little USB plug that is now protruding out of the top of your camera.

On the right-hand side of the Flip video camera is the on/off button, which is nicely placed (for right handed people) to naturally and quickly turn on the camera and have it ready to take film.

Then on the back of your Flip video camera you have seven separate buttons. One of these, the large, central, red record button is a "proper" button you press.

The other six buttons are arranged in pairs around the cntral record button and are touch-sensitive. Because of this they are very difficult to see when the camera is switched off, but as soon as you turn it on, it jumps into life and the six remaining buttons light up.

Firstly among those buttons are "left" and "right" buttons presnt on either side of the record button and these will help you move through the videos you've already made on your camera so you can play back any that you'd like to see. A further button therefore allows you to "play" or pause the video that is on screen whilst another button allows you to delete the video currently on screen.

The final two buttons are a "+" and a "-" button which do different things depending on whether you're recording video or watching a video you've already made. When recording, these buttons will allow you to zoom in or out, whilst when watching a video these buttons control the volums of the sound coming from your Flip video camera.

And that's all there is to it really. Just a few buttons to learn. No fancy menus or silly "double-clicks" or button combinations. Just a few to get the hang of, and the best way to do that is to simply get your Flip camera out and have a play. Just try taking some videos while pressing different buttons and you'll soon learn all the different controls.

Essentially what you do is to plug your camera into your computer at which point your computer should sense that there is a camera attached.

The first time you plug your camera in it will automatically download the software necessary including the driver so it can communicate with your computer and the software that will enable you to download your videos onto your computer.

And that's it.

Each time you plug your Flip video in from now on, the Flip video software will start, allowing you to download videos to your computer in just a few clicks and then, if you like, upload them to the Internet in just a few more clicks.

So while the Flip video software is super-simple to use, it really breaks down into two distinct functions: getting video from your camnera to your computer, and getting videos from your computer to the Internet. In this way, I thought I would break up this tutorial into two halves to make comprehension that bit easier.

So let's start off here then with step 1 - using the Flip video software to download videos you've made from your camera to your computer.

Personally I have both the tripod which can be useful of course for keeping the camera steady whilst filming and also the neoprene case which is ideal for keeping your Flip video camera nice and safe. The Flip camera does come with a small fabric case but it isn't really going to protect it from knocks very well in my opinion.

On the flip side (no pun intended!) the neoprene case is really spongey and will help protect your camera both from bumps and knocks and also will provide a certain degree of protection was moisture (if it rains) and dirt (if you're out in the countryside) and strongly recommend you get hold of one.

But what do you get besides the Flip video camera?

Well you get an instruction manual, a wrist-strap, a very basic slip case and a cable so you can link your Flip video camera to your TV set and play back videos that you've made on your TV.

As mentioned elsewhere on the site, you charge your Flip via your computer so no charger is needed, and it has a built-in battery pack so no batteries are needed either. Just open up the box and you're ready to start making videos!

So who is the Flip video cam ideal for?

Firstly, anyone who likes to keep things simple, either out of principle, because they don't like to dabble in the technical side of things or simply they don't know enough about technology to feel confident using something "fancy" would do very well with a Flip video cam.

Turn it on by pressing the button on the side, use the large screen as a viewfinder to make sure your subject is in the display, then press the red record button and you're videoing! Press the button again to stop filming and when you're done altogether, just plug the camera into your computer, press a couple of buttons and your videos are ready to watch on your computer.

Following on, therefore, the Flip video cam would seem ideal for thr younger or older generations though you should be aware that whilst the on/off button and the record button are just normal buttons, the other buttons that will allow you to watch videos you've already made or delete videos already on the camera are touch sensitive. Whilst I find this makes the camera easier and quicker to use, some people don't get on so well with touch sensitive buttons and find they are forever pressing things they didn't mean to by simply rubbing a finger over things.

The Flip video cam is also perfect for ocassions like weddings, Christmas, birthday parties and so on. It seems to film well both inside and outside, picks up sound well with the built-in microphone and will record up to an hour of video. Being small and easy to operate it's an ideal and fun way to capture an important ocassion without spending your whole day lugging around a huge camera or worrying about spare batteries, getting settings correct and so on.

Lastly, the Flip video cam is perfect for those people who want to display video on the Internet. Whether it's on your own website, a short message wishing your relatives that live abroad a Happy Christmas or just clips of your band on YouTube the Flip video cam makes it super simple to upload videos to the Internet using the software that comes built into the camera.

Once you've entered the details of your Facebook or YouTube account, a few button presses on the software will download your videos to your computer to safely store them, and then upload any that you specify to the Internet without you doing anything than clicking a few buttons.

You know how it is with these small bits of technology. You normally need a huge charger for cell phones and digital cameras - a big box that you plug into the wall with a metre or two of cable to attach it to the device. Why wasn't there such a thing with my Flip video camcorder?

Of course, incase you haven't worked it out yet, the Flip video camcorder is actually charged up by simply plugging it into your computer for 2-3 hours. This may sound like a while, but a full charge will allow you to go for hours - even days - of messing around with your Flip and to be fair, 2-3 hours on the computer can be spent just checking your emails and visiting a few of your favourote websites so for me is actually a good thing - I can charge my camera while I'm on the Internet and kill two irds with one stone.

That also means that when you're downloading videos from your Flip video camcorder to your computer, which can take a little while if you've got the full hour of video to download, your camera is actually charging at the same time as the video is downloading.

A tiny LED is present on the "arm" that you plug into your computer which flashes while your Flip camera is charging, and then stays constantly lit when the camera has been charged so it's simplicity itself to tell when your camera is next ready for action.