@roger,
You can still keep your yahoo account, for whatever that's worth, as I still have mine and don't wish to change everything over to my new one (bank accounts, etc), but I have a google account, or there's hotmail and others. But I don't take kindly to be taken hostage. Yahoo is not the only game in town. And you will have to notify those you care about of your new address. That's just the way it is. I frequently get new email notifications from friends and family and it takes only a second to update them, so it's no hardship. Why pay $60/yr for yahoo when others are free?