Maybe I'll find some nice command line email client that I can get to work on different OSes/cross platform. That's the main head scratcher for now, it was too easy to forget just how well gmail as a web app works on any given system. Friends have offered me money to set up an email service for them, they'd trust me before google. It's not sufficient motivation for me. At least they know what they signed up for.
At the moment I don't mind using google's infrastructure, I have had an overhanging inclination to get away from their services since Buzz happened. Convenience prevailed! Even without the new auto signup/login, they already have my IP indexed usage stats which could be joined on my gmail logged in IP address/cookie, but to have it out in the open like this probably allows third parties to go looking for it. This new development is linking your real name with what you consume on youtube. I have no interest in giving up that info so easily.