I finally managed to successfully combine a old Palm III sync cable with a USB cable, which in partnership with some open source software tools allows me to use a CVS camcorder repeatedly. CVS Drugs (and some other drug stores) sell a video camera made by a company called Pure Digital for $29. The camera records to internal memory and has a capacity of 20 minutes. When you buy one, the connector is covered with a sticker and the battery compartment is locked. Normally, after you record to the camera, you take it back to the store, pay them another $13, and they will put the video on a dvd for you. They then keep the camera, put a new sticker over the connector, and sometimes fresh batteries, repack it and sell it to someone else. Once you have a cable made, you just peel off the sticker, plug it in to your computer, and download the videos. The camera uses AA batteries and has pretty decent video quality.