Item #1: As much as I think SMTP is broken, spam filters make it even more so. I run my own home mail server for one of my domains, which means sometimes my mail gets dropped because I am using a DHCP/residential service. In other words, my ISP address space is blacklisted by some services. Lame. So then I try Hushmail or Gmail, which is also sometimes blocked. A pretty big WTF situation…

Item #2: You have a Yahoo and Gmail email account. Service is excellent and you nearly live by these email accounts. What one thing would make it better? Being able to replace @gmail.com with your domain, of course.

Conclusion: Enter Google Apps. I just got signed up for a beta service through Google Apps using the domain name terminal23.net. I went through all I needed to go through and about 25 minutes later, I have a couple working email addresses on this domain, and I can add new ones within seconds. Rock on! The interface is exactly like Gmail, although I could change the top logo if I wanted to, and I can stay logged into it and Gmail at the same time. Slick!

Feel free to check it out. It took maybe 2 weeks to get approved and an invite emailed out, but it is well worth the wait. This will make an excellent backup to my normal domain and home mail server.