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I'll tell you what I've told my good friend a number of times (once even, regarding his use of an old email service) - when you start having to look over your shoulder while using something, or when you spend more time working against it than working with it, it's time to move on.
Email is critical, so I think the "looking over your shoulder" bit applies here. The question becomes, what's peace of mind worth to you? If gmail accounts and outlook accounts work everywhere, then maybe it pays to go with the flow, especially if you already have said accounts.
I keep my email simple, over a very public broadly accessible (and reliable) service and I've only had serious delivery issues twice in over a decade, and each time they were resolved within 48 hours.
That's worth it to me. The downside of such a public service is no matter how reliable a service, it becomes a honeypot as a consequence, so there's always the question of it getting cracked, but then that's true of anything. Everything is potentially a target. On balance, I find the reliability of a large public email service beats the security concerns it ostensibly raises.
Real programmers use butterflies
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It seems that you can install OX App Suite for free as a ready-to-use virtual machine image via Univention App Center[^]
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I use Arvixe for much the same purposes as you, and Mail was just a PITA, but Outlook Express / Microsoft Internet Mail died ages ago, and MS removed it from their servers just to rub salt into the wound.
I use "straight" Outlook, from my Office 2019 installation, and it works just fine with Arvixe for me. A quick Google finds many suppliers still selling it pretty cheap ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I use Arvixe as well - no issues with email that I'm aware of. Get on their live chat and tell them what's happening, and they'll likely be able to fix it.
FWIW, I use Thunderbird for my email client.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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+1 for Thunderbird 
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I'll see what Arvixe support has to say and then decide if I need to change clients/servers. The other half is enamoured with the domain email address so I will be reluctant to let it go.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity -
RAH
I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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I’ve had my domain since 1992.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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I look around my office, I work at home, and I see 7 desktop computers, 6 of which I do not use. There are also 5 laptops, only one of which I use regularly, and one I use occasionally. There are 5 printers, 1 laser, 2 inkjets that I don't use, 2 laser printers I do use, one for each desk.
I have two 40" flat panel LED TV's, that I use as monitors, one for each desk. There are 5 computer monitors of varying sizes that I don't use. There are 6 external storage devices, 2 of which are Raid 5, 1 ssd and one hard disk, that I use. the other 3 I have not used in I don't know how long. I have 5 usb Memory sticks, 1 on my keychain. I use all of them on a sporadic basis.
There are many, many keyboards and mice, of various configurations, 2 of which I use, 1 for each desk. I have at least 5 battery backups, only 2 that are working.
The number of switches, cables, wires, and adapters are rediculous.
I believe you get the picture.
My wife tells me I am a hoarder, but I don't think so. They are just things I have accumulated form 45 years in the business. I would actually like to get rid of the stuff I am not using at all, but don't know how to do it safely. This is particulary true of the data storage devices as they hold customers' information.
I am going to have to something in the next couple of years, when we sell the current house, build and move to something much smaller. She intends to put me in a 12' x 10' storage shed in the back yard there, and there won't be enough room for it all.
Any ideas on how to safely dispose of all of th unused equipment?
Dorfl
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You can make thermite by mixing equal parts aluminum powder (grind some "tin" foil in a coffee grinder) and ferrous oxide. Light it with a sparkler. It will destroy anything.
Edit: I'm not sure how safe it is, but it's fun.
Real programmers use butterflies
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honey the codewitch wrote: You can make thermite by mixing equal parts aluminum powder (grind some "tin" foil in a coffee grinder) and ferrous oxide.
Or just order it online. Look for "rocket". As fuel goes, it rather cheap.
For the reader; ferrous oxide is rusted iron. You can make this rocket fuel at home
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Eddy Vluggen wrote: For the reader; ferrous oxide is rusted iron
Technically - and just so the readers don't throw chunks of pig iron into the mix - it should be pointed out that the oxide is actually just the rust, not the iron itself.
Real programmers use butterflies
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Just the rust. And aluminum foil.
And you need more heat to ignite than your average lighter.
--edit
Going full MacGyuver; red iron oxide, black alumininium and a magnesium lint. Then you place the chewing gum there..
--edit2
Iron is the "waste product" here; it is the result of the reaction.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
modified 20-Nov-21 21:14pm.
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sparklers work, as I mentioned, but some strips of magnesium and a blowtorch will do it too. i usually find the former cheaper and easier to acquire.
Real programmers use butterflies
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honey the codewitch wrote: a blowtorch will do it too
as opposed to a lighter?
Do you use a magnesium lint, or do you light it directly?
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Honestly, I've never used magnesium. I've only read it can be used. Like I said, sparklers are easier to get ahold of.
I've only made the stuff a couple of times. I don't weld railroad tracks together for fun or profit so I have little need for it, and my interest in it burned up pretty quickly.
Real programmers use butterflies
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I have a lot of stuff too but not that much.
If you are up for it, some of that equipment can be used for projects. Examples:
- small monitors or laptops can be converted into picture frames
- laptop cameras can be used as surveillance cameras
- those big monitors can be converted into interactive table tops and the PCs can be used as the legs and possibly using the old motherboard/cpu/gpu to power the interactive table top
- the printers might possibly be converted to 3D printers with some work and patience
- make a cluster with the old computers to process data that is not critical and you do not want clogging your main PC
If using all that equipment for projects is out of the question and you really want to recycle, it will depend on the regulations of where you are but:
- most electronics (desktops, laptops, TVs, keyboards, mice, printers, switches, adapters, cables, etc) can go to the electronics recycling bin
- the batteries either go to battery recycling bin or, if they are acid batteries, can go to a garage to be recycled as car batteries
- anything holding data (hard drives, SSDs, thumb drives, etc) I would try to either shred them, spot weld them (the very high currents and heat completely rearranges the atoms in the metal) or smelt them into a uniform ingot. Either way it is best to let a professional do it but make sure they do it in front of you. You do not want to turn around and have your intact drive end up in the garbage bin or worse in someones computer.
One advice though. Try to keep one of each old technologies, like one serial mouse and keyboard, one serial modem, etc. You never know when you are going to need it. Sometime ago I saved a colleague's project because I had one serial mouse, one serial keyboard and one 10base2 Ethernet ISA card. The three different modern USB to serial converters he was trying to use did not work.
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Mircea Neacsu wrote: For largish disks that you might want to reuse, you can safely erase them using DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke[^]). For anything under 500GB, just use hammer to drive a nail through it.
I second that. I have used DBAN boot cd a couple of times and it works like charm.
You need some time though. The paranoia modus needs a week or so.
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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Listen to your wife.
you.are.a.hoarder.
CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair
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Slow Eddie wrote: Any ideas on how to safely dispose of all of th unused equipment?
Come on, anything before a 286 should be gone by now. The rest you might want to hang on to.
To be fair, I had the same problem; but a Raspberry Pi replaces all those old machines. Get rid of them, earn some man-points!
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Hording: I have an ARCNET terminator. Among other things.
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Hehehe.
During my first year, I unscrewed it. Screams were heard.
The entire network collapsed, because I unscrewed a tiny thingy. People were having their finals.
I was told not to. So, I had to.
--edit
That was a local network terminator. An ARCNET terminator would be a bit worse.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
modified 20-Nov-21 21:12pm.
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Erase the HDDs and donate the computers. Libraries and charitable organizations can always make use of those. Most everything else can easily go to a recycling center. One trip. Boom. Done.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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Similar here. But in addition for the PCs I do the same thing with the coffee machines, which seldom survive long for me because I am too lazy to decalcify them.
And this drives my wife crazy 
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