I've hacked my MailStation to use a generic ISP and POP/SMTP email server. It wasn't that hard.
The machine will let you configure the dialup number, login, password, and so on for each "User".
They only fields you can't change are the SMTP and POP server names. These are fixed at "smtp.mymailstation.com" and "mail.mymailstation.com".
HOWEVER, you *can* edit the DNS server. There's the rub. I pointed it at a DNS server I control, and became an authoritative master for the mymailstation.com domain. Now I can point those two hostnames to any other host I choose.
Works great! I'm reading email on a generic POP account and so on, using no Cidco subscription services.
Since it does connect straight to a phone line, it's unclear if Cidco could still reprogram some part of it. While I can watch it do name lookups, I can't see all the internet traffic it generates. Cidco literature says it can be reconfigured remotely, so I wouldn't put it past them.
On the other hand, it's really a small set of hackers that would be both motivated and empowered to "retarget" it. You would have be willing to spend $99 for an email-only machine, run your own 7/24 DNS server, and so on. I'm guessing I'm one of very few getting excited over this.
