QUESTION :
I would like to setup my computer similar to how some TVs are set up, namely where when someone calls I get a small reminder in the corner with their number and caller id.
This solution would have to work on Linux, and be for only my computer out of the three in the house.
We don’t have the TV thing setup, however. Our connection is just modem > Router and then the router has two computers directly attached while mine is off of a somewhere else in the house.
Is this a pipe dream or is it actually possible?
ANSWER :
Lets assume you have a POTS line, or something that gives you an analog phone phone.
If you want to go the really old-school method you would need to pick up an old PCI voice modem that supports caller-id. Put that in your computer.
The tricky part finding a modem that actually has callerid software that is supported on Linux. I know my old USRobotics 33.6k modem I had two decades ago support reporting caller-id information to Windows, but I don’t think anyone ever got the callerid functionality to work on Linux.