'im going into film industry next year too a community college and they recomend Mac Book Pro all the way'
Well, I'm 'in' the film industry and I'm telling you that's just hype. With apple you just get 'Apple flavor' 'cause it's the only one that authorizes the os software and specific hardware to be made. It wasn't always that way. Mac's can also get viruses and are great 'carriers' of viruses because though they may not be specifically attacked, because mac users are lulled into a false sense of security many viruses piggyback on mac units until they are plugged into a 'friendly' network. Many of the 'pro's' you describe have either used macs since their inception (myself included) or have had training using apple technology (many schools and universities have apple's on hand.) Apple has just been around the industry longer, that's it. No matter what anyone says, they aren't 'better' or 'worse' than pc's. I've had the misfortune of working with mac's that were a pain out of the box and others that were workhorses. Same with pc's. When someone will finally take all the good things from mac's, pc's, and linux and make a laptop that's the equivalent of the AK-47 (leave it in the mud for a month, pull it out, unclog it and it fires), I'll roll with that and won't look back. Jeez, enough already.
On the serious side, if you really want a pc laptop and you have a requirement to share files cross-platform then you can always pick up a copy of Mac Drive to install on your unit. I've used it at various times over the years and though you can't install apple based software on your pc, it takes away any excuses concerning file sharing with macs particularly if you're using cross-platform software. Besides, all of the pro NLE software will allow you to output into a format compatible with mac's or pc's anyway.
As for which pc laptop to get, you have one mainstream options and one 'off the beaten track' option.
Mainstream is to buy an 'off the shelf' laptop from one of the big names like Sony, HP, Dell or Alienware. These units will be like most macs in that their pre-built with no customization. You just base the pre-installed features on what you need/want.
Off the beaten... is to go custom built. I am not familiar with whether Sony does custom built units, but HP, Dell and Alienware will customize you up to the point of hardwiring it to your brain. Another custom option (that will be cheaper) is to get a custom built workstation style laptop from an outfit like Systemax. I've personally had custom units built and only get customized units for my company. That way, you know exactly what you're getting and how powerful it is. Also, you have the benefit of Sh*** canning all that bundled software that pc's and mac's love to toss in. That stuff doesn't belong on a professional tool. The drawback about custom laptops is a Roman aluded to, hard core customizing will take you into the same price range as comparable macs.
Concerning the tech 'mumbo jumbo', the only things that should concern you are the requirements you need/want to run your programs. Whether on a budget or not, get the most RAM and the fastest processor you can afford. The best options right now are a quad core cpu and at least 2 GB of RAM (4 is better). Get a good-sized harddrive (160GB or bigger) so you'll have room for software and doing edits and graphics. Far as graphic cards go, make sure your potential card is compatible with the NLE/graphics software you intend to use. Another caveate for using an XP or Vista-Biz pc is you don't have to deal with that FAT32 file size non-sense. I can't tell you anything about Win7. I've learned to stand clear of betas until they get the software solidified.
Lastly, the 'big diff' between 32 and 64-bit OS' is the 'width' of the 'bus speed'. Simply put, you get twice as much info passing through a 'bigger tube'. 64-bit is 2x 'wider' than a 32-bit bus. If you're just using your system for 'plain business' or goofing around like that slacker kid in the 'I'm a mac' commercial, 32-bit is definitely for you. However, if you are doing serious graphic, motion graphic, audio production, animation and video/film work 64-bit is the 'shining path' awating you. Provided you have the proper system and hardware requirements to accomodate a 64-bit OS, imagine a world of faster render times, smoother playback and wonderfully large files 'dancing through your system with little or no difficulty. We just built a 64-bit system and from now on all of our production units will follow suit.
So those are some additional things for you to consider.
