I'm starting to not like 1and1.com that much. I've used them for years, but mainly for simple sites without much need for configuration. I know there are better hosting companies out and I may go seeking them.

The problem here is that on my Local XAMPP server (sitting on a network with Comcast ISP), I have a PHP script that uses PEAR::Mail to send mail using MIME. The script works find locally with either smtp.1and1.com and corresponding credentials and smtp.gmail.com with corresponding credentials, using appropriate ports, etc.

1and1 tells me that I have to change the MX record on the domain where this script runs in order to make this work. This doesn't make sense to me.

Now I'm pretty new to all this, but how is it that this is the case? Why can my local server work just fine, out of the box, but their servers not? I have asked them these questions, but they are very vague and I cannot get any good answers from them. Versions:

PEAR Version: 1.5.0
PHP Version: 4.4.9
Zend Engine Version: 1.3.0

My apologies in advance for my ignorance. Thanks for the help in advance.