At one time or another, most of us have had nude pictures of ourselves stolen from our cellphones and leaked to the press. Haha. No, not really. Most of us don't have to worry about the public wanting to see us in the buff. That just happens to gorgeous, famous people like Scarlett Johansson. But many of us have had the experience of someone getting into our email, or checking our text messages -- or even spreading our compromising photos or emails. ScarJo has apparently become so paranoid after a hacker stole nude photos of her and leaked them online that she reportedly goes out of her way not to use technology at all anymore. Word has it she even makes her boyfriend, Nate Taylor, contact her through her assistant. No sexting for Nate!

Ever since I started using it, and to this day, I've felt like Gmail is wonderful, magical, useful, intuitive ... In short, it's basically the best email service I've ever used. Most people who have made the switch from AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. would agree. Not to mention how, for most people, AIM is a thing of the past, because we all use Gchat for our "off-record," real time correspondence these days. The best part of it all is that you can rely on Gmail. It really never glitches out. Oh, wait. That's not true.

Yesterday, a Gmail outage lasted for over an hour and affected "less than 10 percent" of Gmail's user base, or approximately 33.2 million people! That's the official word from Google, but I wouldn't be surprised if the actual number of people affected was higher. I experienced the outage for at least 45 minutes. Definitely a pain, especially when you're trying to use all the other integrated services -- like Google Calendar, Docs, etc.

Since I have an overall inability to accept change with open arms, the news that Google's giving Gmail a makeover would usually make me anxious. Bet then this demo video was leaked onto the web last night showcasing the new features, and I couldn't be more excited. It looks A-MAZ-ING. Seriously, whoever thought to make the screen auto-adjust with window size is a genius.

As an active Gmail user, I admire the changes they've made. They're smart and a lot different then the drastic overhauls sites like -- cough Facebook cough -- have made that cause mass revolts every time. Google has stuck to their guns, and rather than get more annoying or invasive (ahem), they've simply made things cleaner, more aesthetically pleasing, and more functional.

Check out the leaked YouTube video and see the new Gmail for yourself:

I've heard of brand loyalty, but Avrohom Eliezer Friedman is a special kind of devoted to his web-based email service. Maybe it's the ample storage, the search-oriented interface, or the thrilling built-in context-sensitive advertisements—for whatever reason, Friedman is such a Gmail fan, he customized his license plate to declare his love to the world.It reads, simply, GMAIL. What more do you need to say, really?Since Gmail can do everything else, including stopping you from sending regrettable drunk messages to your ex, is it any surprise that when Friedman's car was stolen, his email saved the day?

How do you keep kids safe online without constant supervision? I've been thinking a lot about this as my toddlers grow into Club Penguin and Pokemon Online and, although there are plenty of gadgets and services that promise to protect your kids, many are snake oil.

As a geek dad, I'm worried about two things right now: access to pornographic and violent content. Although most of the scare stories out there warn of Internet stalkers and/or perverts, there is little hard evidence that proves that your child is in danger of a kidnapping or worse due to an online interaction. Those usually happen closer to home and in real life. Although "To Catch a Predator" makes for some gripping television, there are no hard numbers that the biggest danger out there is unsavory characters. I'm more worried about unsavory websites.

That said, it's better to be safe than sorry. I came up with a three-part protection plan that almost anyone can follow.