UPDATE:
pop3 working:
Redwood,
using a new hotpop.com account i am now able to receive mail via pop3, unfortunatly the sending is not so easy with hotpop.
hotpop requires that you authenticate to send via smtp, so you have to run a get mail first then for the next 30 minutes you are supposed to be able to send via smtp. i could live with that and it seems to work when testing via telnet, but it does not seem to work with the mailstation. Here is the point made in the hotpop.com FAQ:
====================================================================
Q:I receive an error that says "550 - Relaying Denied, must authenticate with POP first." How do I fix this?
A:* HotPOP's mail servers require that you log into the POP server before sending mail through SMTP. This basically means that you have to check your mail before you send it. Once you check your mail you have approximately 30 minutes to send. After this you will have to log in again. The easiest way to do this is to set your client to check mail when you start the program, and then check every 20-25 minutes. This will always keep a window open for you to send mail.
===========================================================================
Here is a test via telnet:
===========================
:~> telnet pop.hotpop.com 110
Trying 204.57.55.33...
Connected to pop.hotpop.com.
Escape character is '^]'.
+OK
user valid_user@hotpop.com
+OK
pass mypassword
+OK
list
+OK
1 2472
2 786
.
quit
+OK
Connection closed by foreign host.
:~> telnet smtp.hotpop.com 25
Trying 204.57.55.68...
Connected to smtp.hotpop.com.
Escape character is '^]'.
220 smtp-2.hotpop.com ESMTP Postfix
helo netzero.net
250 smtp-2.hotpop.com
mail from: <valid_user@hotpop.com>
250 Ok
rcpt to: <another_valid_user@somewhere.com>
250 Ok
data
354 End data with <CR><LF>.<CR><LF>
this is a test.
test
test
test
.
250 Ok: queued as AC2251800C9
quit
221 Bye
Connection closed by foreign host.
==========================================
So that shows that the FAQ is correct, and if you authenticate via pop3 first you can then send as a hotpop.com user.
problem is the mailstation does not seem to work.
if i hit the "Get E-Mail" button the mailstation should do a pop3 get, and then the smtp send should work, what i get is the standard "The e-mail service is busy or unavailable please try again later" so it must be doing send first then receive second.
maybe there are some other free pop3/smtp accounts out there that do not require the auth but due to spammers i think they may be few and far between.
Any other ideas?
allyourbase
