in reply to Sending Mail trough Perl using ActivePerl on windows

You have single quotes around the host name in your line: 
  $smtp = Net::SMTP->new('$my_host');

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This prevents interpolation. Either use double quotes, or get rid of the quotes.
Error-checking the result will also help debugging.

     "An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions." - Robert A. Humphrey         "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." - Henry J. Tillman

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom