Should I wait for the next generation of intel before I purchase my Mac

it boils down to a very simple question ... do you need it now?
if so, buy it now. if not, buy it later.

I'm in no hurry and want to make the right investment
so buy it later, you have nothing lose by waiting.

just to address some of your points:

All of this talk of Universal crossgrades, etc. has me confused. Should I wait for the software to catch up with the hardware?

since Apple first introduced the move to Intel there have been some clever blighters installing OS X on their PC's and Windows on their Intel Mac's ... not to mention that it is now never been easier for PC developers to port their software to the Mac platform

so who knows, there may be a possibility of dual booting your Mac to run both FCP in OSX and Studio 8 in Windows, or if the developers port it, running Studio 8 natively on the Mac ... but not yet.
there's also speculation about software virtualization, whereby you might run your app regardless of the host OSX ... but again, not yet.

in the meantime the G5 Quads are spectacular machines in their own right ... wish I had one.


Should I wait for the G5 intels?
the laptop MacIntels are getting rave reviews, its safe to assume that the MacIntel desktops/towers will be even more impressive, however the publically announced timeframe for their release is not before the end of the year ... although we're all hopeful that they'll come sooner

if your current systems meet your needs, if you have no special reason for upgrading, like you are losing work because your facilites are not up to spec (or you just can't wait and have money burning a hole in your pocket) then it would be prudent to wait and see.

let the bleeding edge pioneers forge the way Jackie, wait for the dust to settle ... the second generation are usually much improved over the first