Are you the spouse of a person that has been discovered in contact with child pornography? Have you discovered this fact and not reported it to the police, or have the police come to your door and informed you that the computers in your home or business are being forensically examined for indecent imagery of children?

A man who is a care worker with an exemplary record for close on half a century goes fishing. His life is ruined. In the previous week he was visited by police at his home and it was made known to him that he was being investigated for visiting Internet sites on which child pornographic imagery was available. His computer was seized and his wife was devastated by the news. His daughter arrived home from class to find without any warning that her life would never be the same again.

Having a functional cellphone is one of the critical tools single parents need today in order to stay in contact with their children. Unfortunately all that texting, calling and Internet comes with nosebleed price tags. And if you have been looking for a way to cut down your cellphone bill, Walmart’s new StraightTalk service may be just what you have been waiting for.

Let me just mention that I do not endorse Walmart’s new service and I have no idea how well the service actually works. But the retailer’s price of $45 per month for an all-you-can eat package sounds enticing, especially if you are currently shelling out $150 per month for AT&T’s unlimited calling/texting service. Here is what you need to know before you consider switching to Walmart.

There is a fascinating new portable device out today that I believe is worth mentioning on Single Parent Gossip. It is about the size of a compact navigation system, fits in the palm of your hand and includes the entire content of the English-language Wikipedia dictionary (about 3.5 million articles according to the manufacturer.)

Called the WikiReader, the device is controlled via a touchscreen as well as four physical buttons. The on/off button, a “search”, “history” and a “random” button. Typically you will start your search with the search button, which shows an onscreen keyboard to input search terms. The history button stores all visited Wikipedia pages and serves as a “back” button.

Single Parent Gossip is giving away three WikiReaders. Read the article for details.

The ability to use a digital camera, a computer and a means of communication such as broadband connection to produce high quality images and distribute them has enabled an explosion of fun. Equally it has fueled a rapid rise in questionable or illegal use that directly affects people, particularly children.

Some time ago there was a phenomenon whereby people were being assaulted on the streets and this was captured on phone camera and uploaded to Internet sites for public viewing. A mobile phone with an internet connection is all that was required to achieve this, nothing else.

Managing the day-to-day logistics of parenting is a ginormous feat. And, when those logistics have to be coordinated between two households, it can even seem insurmountable and can lead to conflict between co-parents.

Fortunately, in this age of all things 2.0, there are a variety of online services and software designed specifically to aid separated and divorced parents with managing schedules and communicating other important details of their children’s lives.

Review Nokia N97 Smartphone – What matters most in a cell phone? For the single parent, it is no secret that you will need a device to keep in touch with your children and your ex-spouse. Typically, you would be shopping for a smartphone that has great texting capabilities, a decent camera, and is overall easy to use.

Apple’s iPhone may be the obvious choice these days, but there are interesting alternatives as other manufacturers are trying to catch up. We have had a chance to play with Nokia’s N97 smartphone, which imitates key characteristics of the iPhone and packs the most features you can buy in a cell phone today. At $600, it is also one of the most expensive cell phones you can buy. But is it worth it?

This truly is the Holy Grail and the eternal graveyard of digital age arguments that hits the epicenter, and often the flashpoint between a parent and child, but it is the single most important factor in the personal security of a child interacting on a computer and it is a nugget that will keep popping up in any column discussing the protection of children in computing.

There are several perspectives from which to look at the security of a child in computing. A parent will see it from a particular angle, as will a child from another.

Scientist Ray Kurzweil claims humans could become immortal in as little as 20 years’ time. The 61-year old American said that this new immortality will be thanks to nanotechnology and an increased understanding of how the body works.

Kurzweil said that humanity is starting to understand genes and computer technology at an accelerating rate. He said that nanotechnologies capable of replacing many of our vital organs could be in the shops in 20 years’ time. He points out that artificial pancreases and neural implants are starting to become available.