Is Mac still the safer bet?

If my hardware 2.0 email inbox is any barometer to go by, some people are starting to question their decision to switch to Mac. Here’s an email from Jenny that is typical of a few dozen I’ve had over the past few days:

The other day I came across a news item that said that there are now viruses that affect Mac. I moved from Windows over to Apple because I DIDN’T want to have to deal with antivirus, firewalls and stuff but I’m now starting to get the impression that I’m back and square one having to deal with this stuff, only on my Mac.

I’d appreciate it if you could answer me one question — is Mac still the safer bet?

This is a tough question for me to answer without making people’s blood boil, and believe it or not, that’s not something I want to do (especially when it comes to security). That said, here’s my take …