while there are no reasons not to switch to mac, there are a lot of reasons to stay with PC.
Then you should look at the problem this way and just make sure that after the switch you still can acces the huge quantities of free utilities that the PC offers. hardware and software on PC are moving/upgrading a lot faster than on Mac.
The community on products is bigger, so usually answers are easier to find.
Tons of codecs are easily manageable on PC, while Macs are pretty limited on this side.

I did actually switch to Mac and I'm more than satisfied. :)

I don't know why HDV renders much faster in my Mac with Final Cut Pro than with my similarly configured PC with Adobe Premiere Elements. (It was by a factor of 10)

I bought my macbook and the only thing I don't like is the fact that I can't upgrade it to a quad-core.

If I had it to do over again, I -probably- would have gone with Sony Vegas but even then I'm not sure of the speed difference; FCP can take advantage of 64-bit processing, Sony Vegas (on Windows XP) can't (and I professionally reviewed Windows Vista and declared it "unfit for any user.") There's also a bit of bad blood between me and Sony - I don't want to use any Sony products at all if I can help it.

Not really a fair comparison - Elements is a consumer level product. It might not support multiple cores and the HDV codec may be less optimized than those from other vendors etc. A more relevant comparison would be with iMovie. Or CS3 on both platforms.

you really need to choose your NLE of choice and let that determine your computing needs. For example, I ended up switching to a Mac during my second to last year of my undergrad program when I decided I wanted to get ahead and fell in love with editing- since we had FCS and G5's in the labs, I went ahead and purchased a 1st rev MBP and FCS. The towers were great at the time, but my MBP was actually faster! Thats completely different these days- with 8 core MacPro's leaving all the laptops in the dust. But I do have to say- I find I do my best work in coffee shops. I have no clue why, but sitting down with my Americano, my little g-drive mini and a macbook or macbook pro just can't be beat. When its closing time I pack up and quickly move to a new location to continue. When its time to color grade, I go home, turn off all the lights and connect to a calibrated cinema display. Final Cut is my favorite, but thats probably because I've only tinkered with Vegas, Avid and Premiere. But I know so many people who use them, and LOVE them, and most importantly, do their best work on them.

Having said that, if I were you I'd save a few more pennies and try to get an intel machine simply because it allows you to run OSX and Windows side by side, and ultimately this could allow you some important flexibility should you have an employer that is looking for someone who knows Avid (a lot of the world is Avid based it seems). I've used a macbook (non pro) for months before switching to the new MBP's, and using Nattress plugins and tricks, have managed to turn it into a solid workstation. I agree with Daniel- the 5400rpm hard drive and the firewire 400 can be slow, so be prepared to render a lot. If you are working in SD (not uncompressed) you wont even notice the difference till you start adding alot of layers.

You don't necessarily have to choose between owning one or the other. It sounds like you could benefit from owning both, especially since you teach for both platforms.

I've used CS3, but only on a dual core AMD system, not a dual-core Intel system.

I'm pretty much a mac fanboi, with untold macs in the house and most of my family and friends have drunk the koolaid as well. To me its like a hotrod vs. luxury car comparison. If you want to drag race and enjoy tinkering under the hood on saturdays, then pcs make more sense. If you want a really comfortable seat, automatic transmission and (so far) bulletproof security system, then I say macs are the better option. In the past one platform over the other could do things the other couldnt. At this point, its more of a comparison of how comfortable you are as they do it.

If your ultimate question is "should i stick with pcs or buy a used g5" then absolutely I vote stick with pcs. You'll be far more likely to run into limitations with the g5, and frustrations that a newer machine wouldnt cause. If you already know and love macs, having a g5 around can be great, but in computer terms the g5 is an old jalopy now. A new core2 mac can boot into windows, or run windows virtualized at full speed... and its really fast with fcp and cs3. More and more intel only apps are coming out too.

For the price difference between a core2 mac and equivalent pc, , even a home built one, I think the versatility of having both platforms is worth every penny (if there is a price difference at all).. ) You might have a lot of money tied up in older software that makes you reluctant to change, but having parallels can eliminate that problem too, if you dont mind the weirdness of having two OS runningg.

It really comes down to preferences. Some people like easy and cheap engine upgrades and lots of 3rd party options like skull shaped side mirrors and neon rim lights. Those people look at mac users and feel superior because they saved money or are smart enough to work on their own machine. Some people like heated seats and that feeling of superiority over the uncivilized miscreants either too poor to afford the price of a mac, or so savage that they like to change their own oil on a carpet in their back yard. hehe.

Now... there is a totally different category if you have an IT guy on staff. Thats kinda like having a personal mechanic. If somebody else is driving you around and checking the fuel for viruses and searching down hand rubbed custom walnut knobs... then by all means buy whatever they want you to. The guys driving around in bentleys? They dont care about ANY of the above stuff. hehe.

cheers!
-a

Now I do, and I really benefit from both*. Your'e totally right. And I'm privileged.

*Although I enjoy the Mac experience more...

Chixxx dig Macs.

ok, i should really check the dates on posts. doh!

So, who you gonna vote for in the upcoming nixon/ford election?

I hate to admit it, but I'm old enough to remember that Nixon never ran against Ford.