Symantec is where products go to get put out to farm; it's just a few steps removed from Computer Associates. I use and recommend PGP WDE for the Mac, and I'm not happy about this announcement.
Maybe this explains why PGP CTO Jon Callas got a new job last week. <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/22/jon_callas_joins_apple/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/22/jon_callas_joins_app...</a>
<i>The proposed deals allow Symantec to offer full-disk, email and mobile encryption products alongside its traditional line of security suites. ... Symantec plans to standardise on the PGP key management platform in order to deliver centralised policy and key management</i><p>I'd really love to see a user-friendly way of offering email encryption. The rising tide of privacy encroachment worries me, and the technology to (mostly) evade this exists -- but can't be effective unless a critical mass of people use it.
I hate PGP. You can't upgrade. Every time you upgrade you pray you'll be able to boot and inevitably stuff breaks. Symantec buying this is the only possible way it could get even worse.