I finally got my machine primed up for some serious video editing; RAID array, a gig of RAM, etc... For software I tried Windows Movie Maker II. I know that MM2 falls on the basic side, as does most freebie ware. It's a good way to learn the concepts of editing, but I soon tired of it for lack of the advanced features I want.
Next, I downloaded a trial version of Ulead's Video Studio. While it certainly is more sophisticated than MM2, I found the GUI a little wierd and clumsy. It just wasn't very intuitive to use.
I settled on ScreenBlast Movie Studio. I does everything I want it to, and I like the fact that it handles so many video formats. It also comes with a vast library of effects and transitions as well some audio tools. I paid less than $100 for Movie Studio and I think it performs on par with high-dollar professional editing software suites costing 10x as much.
I'm just curious to see what everybody out there else is using when working with video. What's your preference when it comes to editors?