I am getting a digital camcorder.I have a non-DVD writable computerso I was wondering if I could use my laptop to edit the film, save it in some fashion, preferably the memory card/hard drive (of camcorder) so that I may upload it to my friends computer, who does have the capability to burn DVD's like make them.

As long as you have a memory card reader of some kind, you should be able to transfer any edited video to a memory card and then take it with you to your friend's house. The other option would be to upload it to a free service like Blip.tv and then download it at your friend's house.