I love GMail, but I'm also kind of dependent on it.  I have a couple of different websites, and all the mail I get at those locations goes to my GMail account, which I can usually check anywhere.  Unfortunately, when GMail goes down, I'm out of contact with just about everyone and everything.  Here lately, GMail has been giving me a lot of problems.  Thankfully, there are plenty of workarounds!

It's pretty amazing that Google gives you so many options for accessing GMail.  So many free email providers force you into using their newest interface, yet Google gives you access to the old mode, a Java-less mode, an iPhone mode and a general mobile phone mode, a secure mode for use in public settings, and even a safe mode in case some new Google widget is what's giving you email troubles.  For whatever your use, GMail has a mode for it. 

I've used at least four of these GMail modes myself, and I've often used one of the various work-arounds when I was getting some error or another depending on slowdowns in my Internet connection, browser errors, using older computers, or checking my mail on a wireless network or at the library.  I swear by secure mode.  It's a bit slower, but I think the safety is worth it.

H/T and Image:  NewsTechZilla