Hurry up and head on over to Engadget for the chance to win some really cool prizes in their “Back To School Sweepstakes“.  Some of the items they are giving away includes, laptops, phones, tablets, subscriptions to services like Spotify, and much much more. It is also really easy to enter you just basically have to be a US resident and be able to comment on the post, so what are you waiting for?

So I got an email from ESET trying to sale me on why I need to have Antivirus on my Mac and threw some great ideas that got me to thinking. So here is a response to ESET and its advertisement.

For the sake of having to read this whole article the quick answer is “Most likely NO”. Now the reason why…

Here is a video I found about a guy explaining if you need antivirus for your Mac or not. I agree with pretty much everything he said and you can hit the “Read More” button to find out what I have to say.

If you install anything because it says you need to then YES:
The first reason was, “To beat the MacDefender scam.”. This was some kind of scam that “Tricked” Mac users into downloading and installing some fake Antivirus software that would charge you to remove some fake viruses.  So if you are stupid enough to download anything on the internet because it says you have a virus then yes you probably need Antivirus…even though that is kind of what Anti-Virus is doing anyways.

If you care about Windows users then YES:
A lot of if not all Mac antivirus software is targeted towards Windows viruses that do not bother the Mac. If you own a Windows machine along side your Mac or have family and friends who own a Windows machine that you share files with then you MIGHT need Antivirus on your Mac to protect them. This was the one reason from ESET that got me thinking I might want to invest in some Antivirus software for my Mac. I have Windows and my family runs Windows so it might come in  handy to protect them. Keep in mind you are most likely only to get a Windows virus if you are downloading some illegal content or going to porn sites, so if you don’t do any of those then the answer should be a no.

Why you should not have antivirus software on a Mac:
Antivirus software actually eats up resources on your computer causing it to run slow. Some users have even said that antivirus has stopped them from doing things on their computer, even surfing on the internet. Antivirus software also, for the most part, costs money, making you pay for something that you would most likely never use. There is no known active viruses for the Mac. Last but not least Apple does updates to stop this kind of threats and builds their software to help prevent potential future threats.

I think they are really desperate right now and are just franticly posting to try to keep the users from burning down the corporate headquarters. On 10MAY2011 Sony gave a PSN update with a “Restoration Timeline” that had no times or dates. Matter fact the only thing they said other than they can’t give an exact date is that it “May” be a few more days.

Another Useless Sony Update

Although there has been many speculation and rumors on if the iPad was even going to exist, look like, or even be called it has, today, just been officially announced. Apple has just put their latest product, the iPad on their website today. Although you can not purchase the product yet they do show you a great pricing structure, design, features and and tech specs about the new iPad.

As I started looking at the iPad I realized that in a way it’s just really a bigger version of the iPhone with more battery life (10 Hours), a bigger screen (9.7 – inch), and some new features. One thing I thought thT was really cool about the new iPad is it has the ability to connect to wi-fi and 3G networks. So this means if you are on the go you can easily stay connected to the internet to check your email or surf the web even if you are not near a wi-fi area.

Below is an image of the iPad pricing structure. As you can see the product is actually very affordable for what you are getting. The iPad comes in three different classes (no wi-fi, wi-fi, wi-fi + 3G) and from those classes come 3 sub classes (16GB, 32GB, 64GB). Picture captured from Apples official website.

Apple iPad Pricing Structure

Have you ever wanted to open a file but didn’t have the correct software for it? Or wanted to be able to do something like create a PDF document or run your own server but not pay for the well known expensive software like Adobe Acrobat or WHS? You can use Google to find free or cheaper alternatives by doing a vs or alternative search.

For example if you want to find an alternative for creating PDF files type in “Adobe Acrobat vs” minus the quotes and you will get many suggestions. You can also do a search for “Adobe Acrobat Alternative” to find a free or cheaper alternative.

This is also a great tool to use if you need to find alternatives for different operating systems. For example lets say you just switched to a MAC from Windows and you are use to the oh so familiar “notepad” well if you do a search “notepad alternative for mac” you will be filled with a bunch of alternative choices to choose from.

If you have ever wanted to look up a number by dialing 411 but hated it when you got your bill and found out you owned $2 for the phone call then this service provided by Google is for you.

Goog-411 is a free 411 information service that anyone can use on any phone by calling 1-800-Goog-411.

All you have to do is call 1-800-Goog-411 and state the business and location. From there Google will connect you or give you their address at no additional cost…FREE!