ossguy

7 ms·

1.
by ossguy 3y ago
Does it show eSIM providers that explicitly do not provide phone numbers? In particular, ones whose eSIM does not list any phone number that the OS can see (many "data-only" plans still have a phone number the OS can see/use
2.
by ossguy 3y ago
Basically everything is VoIP these days (VoLTE, etc.). Online services sometimes have secret lists of phone numbers they don't like, but "voipness" isn't a silver bullet for determining whether or not a service will lik
3.
by ossguy 3y ago
Why do you need a German phone number? Many countries let anyone have a phone number, with no proof of address or other identifying information. Just use one of those numbers instead. One example service is https://jmp.chat&#x
4.
by ossguy 3y ago
I'd be interested to hear more if you don't mind posting about which service(s) offer(s) this. If you'd rather tell me privately, email denver@ossguy.com
5.
by ossguy 3y ago
I think they meant https://jmp.chat/
6.
by ossguy 6y ago
https://jmp.chat/ supports both MMS and group texting, so it would give you the full Google Voice feature set. I'm not aware of any other service like this that supports group texting - most other services silently ig
7.
by ossguy 6y ago
The backend is Bandwidth. Since JMP uses an actual carrier instead of a reseller like Twilio, it is easier to fix issues and get questions answered, as there is one less level of tech support indirection. It also means JMP's costs are
8.
by ossguy 6y ago
Yeah, JMP supports picture messaging and short codes, so works for most SMS-based 2FA. Group texting support will be completed in the next month or two, which would give JMP feature-parity with Google Voice. And you can run your own insta
9.
by ossguy 7y ago
Or to a service like https://jmp.chat/ that allows you to signup anonymously.
10.
by ossguy 7y ago
In practice it seems to work fine with the banks I've tried. There may be one or two that don't accept numbers whose type is listed as "voip", but they are in the minority. There is also work being done to update the ty
11.
by ossguy 7y ago
That's how https://jmp.chat/ works, and you can make your phone number as arbitrarily secure as you want with JMP. Any port-out requests are handled manually - you are contacted by a human to ensure that you made the r
12.
by ossguy 7y ago
We don't always provide our complete number list at https://jmp.chat/ - as an example, we usually have off-list numbers available in area codes like 416 and 212. Just message the JMP support number (+1 416 993 8000) or
13.
by ossguy 7y ago
It looks like BMW is not in compliance. As far as I can tell, no one has done a complete corresponding source (CCS) check on that code like we did for Tesla: https://lists.sfconservancy.org/pipermail/ccs-review/20
14.
by ossguy 7y ago
Anyone can get a phone number anonymously from https://jmp.chat/ if they like. JMP lets you signup over Tor, and after the free trial you can pay in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to keep the number.
15.
by ossguy 8y ago
Agreed that such services should stop using phone numbers. In the meantime, you can get inexpensive numbers from https://jmp.chat/ - useful for 2FA as well.
16.
by ossguy 8y ago
If you want to use an SDR instead of a dedicated 2G/3G/LTE modem, you would still need 2G/3G/LTE baseband firmware to teach your SDR how to access the cell network (if/when you wanted that). As mentioned by "p
17.
by ossguy 8y ago
You could add this indirection layer with something like JMP instead. With https://jmp.chat/ you don't need a SIM card at all - you just login to your phone number with an XMPP client (SMS/MMS) or SIP client (voic
18.
by ossguy 8y ago
https://jmp.chat/ supports MMS and concatenated SMS. JMP has full support for sending and receiving picture messages, and can receive group texts as well (which Twilio doesn't support). Sounds like JMP is what you wan
19.
by ossguy 8y ago
You could use https://jmp.chat/ instead - JMP does support short codes, and you can use is anywhere you have Internet access, regardless of whether you have a SIM or not.
20.
by ossguy 9y ago
You could use https://jmp.chat/ for your phone number - with JMP your phone number is accessible whenever you have Internet, regardless of which wifi/carrier you're using. That probably gives it a few other advan
21.
by ossguy 9y ago
You can get a phone number from https://jmp.chat/ if you like. The signup process can be done entirely over Tor. If you don't use it beyond the trial, it's like the public payphone option mentioned by another com
22.
by ossguy 9y ago
https://jmp.chat/ is a project I started, yes. There are about a dozen other people who work on it to varying extents (you can get a sense of this from the commit logs, some of which are linked below). Based on https:&#x2
23.
by ossguy 9y ago
As with all carriers that offer US (and Canadian) numbers, they are required by law to let you port your number away. So you can always bring your number elsewhere if they decide to close up shop. And if that happens, likely someone will s
24.
by ossguy 9y ago
For people that use Google Voice, that's often the hardest Google service to leave. You can get similar features with https://jmp.chat/ - it supports text and picture messaging (and voicemail transcription) and you ca
25.
by ossguy 9y ago
https://gajim.org/ tends to be best for desktop (binaries exist for most desktop OSes). For macOS, you may want to try Adium or Psi. Or you can use https://movim.eu/ which, though a web client, has fairly
26.
by ossguy 9y ago
Such a meta XEP exists already: https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0387.html#im If you use a client that conforms to the Advanced Client requirements of the IM and Mobile Compliance Suites (with a similarly up-to-par serv
27.
by ossguy 9y ago
In these cases you could use a https://jmp.chat/ phone number. No smartphone is required for JMP, only an XMPP client (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16352711 for some client options).
28.
by ossguy 9y ago
https://jmp.chat/ is a good alternative. Text and picture messaging over XMPP, and voice over real SIP (with voicemail transcribed to text). There are lots of great XMPP clients, such as Conversations on Android, and Gajim
29.
by ossguy 9y ago
To clarify, by "we" I don't mean FSF. I work for a different 501(c)(3) non-profit.
30.
by ossguy 9y ago
It is not easy, especially if you don't already have an account at a Bitcoin exchange. See my other comment at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16277833 for more details (tl;dr: we've been looking/signin

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