Shutting down GMail would practically amount to shutting down email. It's by far the largest email provider in the US (and probably in the world but I don't have that data). There's no other provider who could take up the slack; if it were to abruptly shut down, a lot of users would simply lose access to email altogether.

Yeah, but they still don't run a charity. They sell ads and information - and gmail provides them with lots of valuable information.

If that ceases to be true, goodbye (free) gmail.

Shutting down GReader ruined my life.