02-14-2021, 03:50 AM
TRS-80, thank you for your in-depth reply, and Zebulon Walton, thanks for your insights as well. You both obviously know a lot more
about this than I do, so if you don't mind I'm going to give you a bit more background:
1. My Internet access is limited to 1 line of unlimited voice/data with Verizon (unfortunately?).
2. I've tried connecting a computer to the Internet via the phone's Wifi (hotspot), but have never been able to keep it going - it always seems
to cut off after some time. Obviously, a web server must have a persistent connection.
3. Since I only make a few phone calls, my 1st choice was to have a laptop or tablet with a cellular modem that is capable of voice calls
(not VoIP, because I can't assume that the people I'm calling, like a doctor's office, are on a computer). However, to my knowledge, no such
device exists - I think iPads, Samsung laptops, etc. with LTE capability are only for WiFi, right?
4. So when I discovered the PinePhone (actually, heard about the Librem5 1st, but PinePhone is so much cheaper, and almost as capable),
it seemed like a great solution. I'm hoping that it's compatible with Verizon as far as the bands they use, GSM vs. CDMA, etc.
TRS-80, you bring up the issue of static vs. dynamic IP - are you sure that a carrier like Verizon will always assign different addresses, and
if so, is there a workaround when I set up the DNS records, etc.? And as far as the Sim card goes, isn't that just used by the carrier for billing
purposes? Because I think you're right about the IMEI and also maybe something else (IMSI?), but the question is, how do you change them?
By the way, when you were talking about SBC's, were you thinking of the Raspberry Pi? Because that looks like a fantastic machine, but again,
I don't believe it has a cell modem.
Zebulon Walton, I was originally thinking Apache, but people say that's overdoing it, and many recommend NGINX. When I finally get a hold of
a machine, I'll definitely try the IBM server also.
Thanks for your help, guys.
about this than I do, so if you don't mind I'm going to give you a bit more background:
1. My Internet access is limited to 1 line of unlimited voice/data with Verizon (unfortunately?).
2. I've tried connecting a computer to the Internet via the phone's Wifi (hotspot), but have never been able to keep it going - it always seems
to cut off after some time. Obviously, a web server must have a persistent connection.
3. Since I only make a few phone calls, my 1st choice was to have a laptop or tablet with a cellular modem that is capable of voice calls
(not VoIP, because I can't assume that the people I'm calling, like a doctor's office, are on a computer). However, to my knowledge, no such
device exists - I think iPads, Samsung laptops, etc. with LTE capability are only for WiFi, right?
4. So when I discovered the PinePhone (actually, heard about the Librem5 1st, but PinePhone is so much cheaper, and almost as capable),
it seemed like a great solution. I'm hoping that it's compatible with Verizon as far as the bands they use, GSM vs. CDMA, etc.
TRS-80, you bring up the issue of static vs. dynamic IP - are you sure that a carrier like Verizon will always assign different addresses, and
if so, is there a workaround when I set up the DNS records, etc.? And as far as the Sim card goes, isn't that just used by the carrier for billing
purposes? Because I think you're right about the IMEI and also maybe something else (IMSI?), but the question is, how do you change them?
By the way, when you were talking about SBC's, were you thinking of the Raspberry Pi? Because that looks like a fantastic machine, but again,
I don't believe it has a cell modem.
Zebulon Walton, I was originally thinking Apache, but people say that's overdoing it, and many recommend NGINX. When I finally get a hold of
a machine, I'll definitely try the IBM server also.
Thanks for your help, guys.
