Today's Sign of the Apocalypse

Admittedly, things are looking a little gloomy for the global perspective.  Terrorism has devastated Mumbai, stock markets have been plunging around the world, and people are still searching for Britney Spears on Yahoo.  Not to mention the fact that the open seas are being marauded by pirates!(Arrrgh, where was the pirate booth on career-fair day?! Pirate sounds way more fun than lawyer.) 

In addition to all that doom and gloom, I heard that Apple has now recommended that users install anti-virus software to protect their Macs from malware.  What!?! Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Mac (aka Justin Long) chide PC (John Hodgman) that "Macs don't get viruses"?  

Apple even went so far as to recommend MULTIPLE anti-virus packages. Imagine the elegance, fluidity and grace of the Mac interface being utterly sabotaged by Nortons or McAfee.  Isn't the freedom from anti-virus software and their imperviousness to malware one of the reasons why Apple can (and does) charge a premium for their computers? 

Presently, Apple has retracted the statement, but the damage is done and the seed of doubt has been planted.  Adam O'Donnell of ZDnet.com writes "People who believe that the fundamental design of Macs will prevent them from being an attractive target for viruses are dead wrong." 

It has been suggested that Apple is laying a marketing foundation for when they conveniently release their own anti-virus package.  This would be smart in a business sense, but definitely a little shady too.  

Maybe this is just Apple realizing that their computers aren't perfect, and that the hackers and the people who write viruses are getting more and more creative.  Ultimately, Mac users will be the ones left to decide what level(s) of protection they need.  

Maybe it isn't the end of the world.