A new Mac in my future?

I've been thinking about buying a new computer. I already have a handful of Linux machines, and one that I can boot into Windows XP Pro whenever I need a slow, unreliable system, so I was thinking about giving a Mac a try. It's the one operating system that I'm not comfortable in doing day-to-day stuff in.

Anyhow, I'm clueless as to what to look for in a Mac. I'm trying to decide between an iBook/PowerBook and a mini-Mac. I may use it some for a little bit of programming and design, otherwise it would be used for Internet stuff and video/photo editing. I can handle most of my photo editing in the Gimp, but video editing in Linux is more trouble than it should be.

I know some of my readers are Macites (or something along those lines) and would appreciate any feedback you can offer. Moving from a PC to Mac, what are the things that differ that I need to look at? Are there any specs I should keep an eye on?