Many of my friends swear by Gmail, and use it everyday for their email communications. However, using your e-mail service on public HotSpot could turn out to be a bad idea. Your private information can be vulnerable when using your Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account on these public spots. Linux Activist has a good piece on how to protect your Gmail against wandering eyes. Next time you are using a public Wi-Fi spot, think twice before surfing without protecting yourself first.