[SATLUG] [OT] Cell phone rant / open source idea

[Thomas King]

> My fiance (sp?) and I have cell phone service through
> Verizon and I swear, if its not one thing its
> another.. that bill is $153, $200, etc.. never the
> original $80 that we're expecting.  First it was my
> data plan (expected) so I got rid of it and downgraded
> to a cheap phone, but somehow I was still getting
> charged.  I later found out that it was because we
> text message too much, so I add a text message plan
> yet there is still a data charge.  Chaps my hide.
>
> So I was thinking....(uh oh).
>
> What if I get Verizon's wireless plan (the PCMCIA card
> if they offer it like Sprint does), get Skype In/Out
> and just power up my laptop to check messages etc.
> Skype works on linux so it should be good to go.  I'd
> have a one time bill from skype and a montly $50
> internet fee from Verizon.
>
> -Alex

I had the same problem with Cingular because the phone I had (Sony Ericsson -
yuck!) had the Internet button right on the front panel and would constantly get
pushed when the phone was in my pocket and I'd forget to lock the keys. We
eventually had Cingular block any data access and that dropped our phone bill
tremendously. We've since switched to another carrier, another story...

Do you know if Verizon's card works with Linux? Is their promised throughput
enough to support Skype? Since this will require data coverage wherever you want
to use it, will there be enough coverage wherever you want to use it in lieu of
your cell phone?