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there are a lot of options for keeping people connected that dont require a phone like matrix, xmpp and a much bigger etc. so if someone wanted to ditch their phone and only use their linux laptop, would that be possible?? thank you!!

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[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 45 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

You would still need a internet source, but yeah. The hardest part would be getting a virtual phone number that qualifies for receiving account text messages when necessary. Or using apps that inherently tie themselves to a phone number.

[-] solrize@lemmy.world 20 points 9 months ago

You can get a phone number from twilio, vitelity, voip.ms etc, and you can run a SIP client on the laptop if you need to make or receive phone calls.

[-] brygphilomena@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago

Some SMS 2fa messages won't be sent to VoIP numbers. Particularly those coming from 5 digit numbers.

Just something to keep in mind, as it was a difficulty that I ran into using a twilio number for a lot of web services.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 6 points 9 months ago

Yeah… that’s the problem.

[-] Cinner@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

And the solution is services like truverifi

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 2 points 9 months ago

That’s a new one for me, I’ll add it to the list.

[-] solrize@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I haven't had to deal with that much, but yeah it can happen. For 2fa in particular, TOTP is way preferable to SMS.

[-] JustUseMint@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Of course but some garbage companies only offer sms MFA

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 3 points 9 months ago

Oh good, someone had suggestions. Thank you, I’ll keep these written down for when I need an anonymous voip again. The last ones I used suddenly became disqualified for what I was using them for. Hadn’t gotten around to trying replacements.

[-] jvrava9@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 months ago

jmp.chat works well for north america too

[-] Secret300@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago

Google voice works for most important things. I use it for my bank and venmo.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 6 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Unfortunately, that’s one that got banned for a few services. Obviously not all, good to hear it still works for some, but for others you enter a gvoice number and it tells you it’s not eligible. (At least it did, maybe something has changed and they’re working again, it’s been a while since I tried it.)

[-] Dran_Arcana@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Definitely still a thing unfortunately

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 1 points 9 months ago

Damn. Well, thanks for saving me the trouble.

[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 30 points 9 months ago

You're going to look like a doofus holding your laptop to your ear, but it's totally doable.

[-] JustARegularNerd@aussie.zone 10 points 9 months ago

I mean you could easily get a cheap cabled headset to use with it.

[-] jerrythegenius@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

But that would make sense and we don't do that here

[-] Nomecks@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

What time is it at Regular Nerd's house? Twelve o'clock! Twelve o'clock! Twelve o'clock!

[-] GrabtharsHammer@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Sidetalking 2, electric boogaloo

https://sidetalking.com/original/

[-] RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 26 points 9 months ago

A person can live without any kind of computer at all. Believe it or not, there used to be a time when computers and smartphones did not exist and people still lived. Now, that doesn't mean it will be easy.

Jobs usually provide them when they are necessary to your job, and public libraries usually have computers that are free to use for things like schoolwork, job application, and other such tasks.

[-] HonoraryMancunian@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago

there used to be a time when computers and smartphones did not exist

What the hell did people do all day?! D:

[-] TiresomeOuting@lemmy.ca 12 points 9 months ago

There'd be a few times it would be really inconvenient.

For example some concerts only allow tickets from the Ticketmaster app, not even a printed ticket. Though possibly showing the ticket on the laptop would work but then I'm not sure they'd let you bring a laptop into a concert.

[-] eskimofry@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

Not OP, Good Point, Weird example

[-] rowinxavier@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago

Yes, it is possible, though fairly prohibitive. You can get modules for connecting a Sim card to your laptop to make and receive calls and SMS, so all the third party authentication messages and calls can be done. Apps can often be run through an emulation layer for Android, not so much for iOS, but yeah, it can mostly be done.

That said, there are devices like the Pinephone which run a mainline Linux distribution like Arch or Alpine and can also do calls, SMS, and if you are brave use some android apps. If you can use a Pinephone for it then you can use another Linux laptop with a phone module to handle everything else.

I am much more worried about things like banking now. A bank that allows use of an app on your phone with NFC is great but when they take away using anything else I would become a little more worried. If they can keep an option open, say having standard cards along side phone NFC, then the lock in is much less profound. If we get to a point where they cannot operate without Google or Apple giving the go ahead then they cannot move away if things get bad, so those monopolistic companies can extract more value from those banks and that gets passed down. This applies to tonnes of other services like taxis, food delivery, booking doctors appointments, and so on.

[-] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 6 points 9 months ago

Traveling is going to suck.

If you are driving places, you are going to fall back to using a map or maybe a GPS device if they still sell them. If you are going to places with paid on-street parking, paying may be more difficult as cities have started shifting to a mobile way to pay, so bring your laptop.

A lot of rail and airline ticketing is now done through phones, with some airlines making you pay for a printed ticket. And if anything goes wrong, these companies have pushed a lot of customer service to mobile.

If you don't have a car, that means your best luck is a taxi. That might work in some cities, but don't expect it to be as fast or convenient. Also load up on mass transit schedules, since a lot of transit agencies have gone to an online only posting of schedules.

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

You don't even need the laptop but it would definitely be helpful: If you need to call anyone's phone number, just use a VOIP service and you're good.

[-] Secret300@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago

I think thank pads still have the option to take sim cards so yes

[-] Rayspekt@kbin.social 2 points 9 months ago

We only ever think, but maybe we should stop to thank from time to time. That's where our ne ThankPad Edge comes in.

this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024
64 points (100.0% liked)

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