Q: When Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones retires after the 2012 season, will he receive a retirement check?
-- William McKee Jr., Flowery Branch
A: Jones has played more than 10 years in the major leagues, so he qualifies for the maximum pension benefit, Chris Dahl, a spokesman with the Major League Baseball Players Association, told Q&A on the News in an email. "Assuming he waits until he is 62 to begin receiving his pension, he will receive $200,000 annually," Dahl said. "Of course, there will likely be cost-of-living adjustments made by the time he reaches that age, bringing the amount higher." Jones has had contracts worth $155,552,133 over his 18-year MLB career, according to Baseball-Reference.com. He is scheduled to make $14 million this season.
Q: All antivirus ads I see seem to be for PCs. Are Apple computers somehow immune?
-- Tom Bennett, Rex
A: Viruses can attack Apple's Macintosh computers, but Macs aren't susceptible to viruses written specifically for Windows-based computers, according to apple.com. Macs were relatively safe from viruses for years because more people owned Windows-based computers, or PCs, CNN.com reported. "The bad guys generally go toward the biggest target, what will get them the biggest bang for their buck," Kevin Haley, a director of security response at Symantec, said in the article. However, a Trojan horse program called "iBotnet," which was written for Macs, was discovered in January 2009. Apple has built security measures, including a limited malware detection system, into its current operating system, according to apple.com.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? Our news researchers will try to get an answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city). Sorry, individual responses are not possible.
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