I'm still on the fence between purchasing Pinnacle's Studio Plus Version 9, Ulead's Studio and Adobe Premier Elements. Perhaps someone could help me make up my mind?

Here is the specs for my IBM Laptop:

IBM ThinkPad T42p 2379 - Pentium M 745 1.8 GHz
RAM: 512mb DDR SDRAM - PC2700 - 333 MHz
Graphic Controller: ATI MOBILITY FIRE GL T2 - 128 MB
DVD RW

When I bought the machine I also purchased a Firewire adaptor with 2 ports. I have not opened the box yet, but it says it comes with Ulead Studio 7 SE editing software.

Here's what I want my editing software to do:

* Edit DV footage from a CANON Elura 90 camera (duh!)
* I want to be able to do simple voice over narration and do it simply
* I want to be able to add music from a music cd and do it simply
* Many times I want to eliminate the audio that was originally recorded on the tape and just replace it with music. I've heard Ulead had a problem with that but Pinnacle could do it?
* I don't want to have to buy any more hardware - I want to use what I have.

Here's my questions:

1) Can anyone tell me if the Firewire / Ulead bundle I purchased is any good? The part number can be Googled and it will tell you exactly what is in the bundle (31P673. Will the Firewire work with ANY editing software or just Ulead? Will Ulead VideoStudio 7 SE do what I want? How about a later version of VideoStudio? If this Firewire won't help me I may want to take it back.

2) From what I've read about Pinnacle Studio 9 Plus, Ulead VideoStudio (the new version 9) and Premiere Elements, I think they will do what I want them to EXCEPT:

It appears that you have to go through quite a bit to get a voice over narration in Premiere. It appears from the literature that it is simpler in the Pinnacle hardware. Is that true?

The Pinnacle literature plainly states that you can SIMPLY add music to a movie from ANY music cd. I can't find where it says that about Premiere. Can one add music from plain old music cds in Premiere, or is this harder too?

Which product has the best audio capability?

3) And finally, do I need to add any hardware to use Pinnacle or Premiere, or will the Firewire and card I purchased do the trick? I will only be importing DV footage from the Canon camera, nothing else. I thought I was buying what I needed in the Firewire. Some Pinnacle products come with a video capture card - do I need one of those, or will the firewire work alone?

I've read many posts here - and just as many opinions, and from what I've read, all three products are class A, it's just a matter of preference. But based on my "wants" listed above - and the firewire I've already bought, can anyone offer anything that will help me get off the fence?

My questions will get more intelligent as I settle in and start using this stuff, I promise! I just want to get started on the right foot.

Thanks!