Soliciting Opinions: PC vs. Mac

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very three years, the school supplies me with a new computer. It is not necessarily the most recent models, and it doesn't include the most recent software. But the machine itself is new, so that constitutes a new computer, I suppose. In any case, I have the option of getting a "standard" replacement, or a "non-standard" replacement. "Non-standard", in this case, means "more expensive."

This time, I have the option of using a Dell Latitude D620 laptop or an Apple Macbook Pro. I kn ow what I can do with the PC Dell as it is similar with the Toshiba I currently own, except the new one will have a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo and 1 gig of RAM, instead of the modest 1.5 FHz and 512 MB I currently run. Now, if this Dell came with Vista, it would be a no-brainer. But it runs on Windows XP so there is not too much difference with what I have right now. .

A few years ago, this would have been fine, but I am learning how to manipulate videos these days. The other day, we read a short funny essay by Endo Shusaku called "A Problematic Commercial" and so I found some funny or different Japanese commercials and burned them onto a DVD to show to the class after reading the piece. My students seemed impressed that I could burn a DVD, let alone know the difference between a CD and a DVD.

In any event, when I try to edit videos on my PC, I always seem to run into problems: resolution gets worse, audio synchronization gets messed up, etc. I've been asking around, and I've been told that editing video is not PCs forte. However, Macs don't seem to have this problem, so I was wondering if I should change to the Macbook Pro. The statistics are rather amazing: A 2.16 GHz Intel core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 160 GB harddrive. I would imagine that if I had this power in a PC, I would never have trouble manipulating videos.

But I am unfamiliar with Macs and would like the input from those of you have a Mac, epecially those of you who are familiar with both PC and Macs. What are the major differences? What makes one superior to the other? Any input would be appreciated.