Video Editors: Final Cut Editing for MACS- Your Opinions?

I'm about to be buying a notebook and going off to college with it and I'm very interested in Apple's Final Cut editing program. I've heard good things and known people who have used it, however it will put my purchases for college on the pricey end. Not only will I be needing a MAC (already more expensive than the PCs), but then the editing program itself cost $1000. How does Final Cut compare to other programs any of you have used or seen? Is Final Cut a timeless option (will my $1000 purchase last)? What are the great advantages of this $1000 program? Basically, would you recommend purchasing it, along with the MAC? I'm just looking to get opinions about the program, thanks.

 

Final Cut Pro has established itself as THE standard in any video editing not controlled by the professional versions of Avid (which usually require specialized hardware). The fact that you'll be working on a piece of software as ubiquitous as Final Cut means you'll be ahead of students who waste their time with other apps.
On top of that Final Cut's interface is just logical. Good video editing is complicated enough that a poor interface (see Adobe Premiere) is a tough obstacle to overcome.

 

If you want to give a FOSS (Free Open Source SW) package a try, Jahshaka ( Download at SourceForge, Project Home Page) does run on OS/X -- I have been quite happy using it on both XP and Linux boxes. Combine that w/ the FOSS package Audacity for audio and you will have quite the kit...