> If there's one that I really need to be on, I'm going to spin up a VM on my computer so that it has no idea of the other files laying around, such as my ~/passcodes.csv. If you are such a negligent bullhead as to get me onto your call, you'll be unable to see me because my VM cannot access my camera! By design! Same for my microphone, so I'll plug in a USB mic if I really need to speak up. More likely than not thou…
I'll pass on your zoom call
61–70 of 74 posts
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#62Reminds me of the saying "Pessimists are often right. Optimists are often rich."
As a pessimist who's often right, and not rich, this resonates. But how can this be true? Surely you get rich by being right?
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#63> Jitsi - their biggest offense in my book is their name, which is hard to say is or is not really offensive. And who can't remember not using a video conference app that didn't have an inoffensive name? If "jitsi" is offensive, who to? If not, which video conferencing app names are?
It comes from жици in Bulgarian, which means "wires". I think the author should remove that part of the blog post because it detracts from the author's point and is even a bit embarrassing that they hadn't looked it up. A reference for the name: https://desktop.jitsi.org/Documentation/FAQ.html#spelling
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#64Do people really still use Zoom in 2026? I hate Teams, but it's so common now that I can't remember the last time I ever took a call that wasn't on it. If I had to take one from another platform I'd assume it was sketchy!
Otherwise Google Meet or WhatsApp are more than sufficient. They can support up to 20 participants with ease, based on my experience.
For bigger conferences, Microsoft Teams is the way to go. All it needs is the host to have an Office 365 subscription, then others can join on the browser or app with no restrictions.
Microsoft Teams offers a free version that allows users to chat, meet, and collaborate with others, although it has some limitations compared to the paid versions. The free version includes features like group calls for up to 60 minutes and 100 participants, along with 5 GB of cloud storage per user. Teams will warn in advance before the 60mins is up, so the host can simply end the Teams meeting session and start it again to get another 60mins of meeting time where everyone else can join in again.
No need for Zoom and its security issues.
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#65Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#66> If there's one [zoom call] I really need to be on, I'm going to spin up a VM on my computer so that it has no idea of the other files laying around, such as my ~/passcodes.csv` Oh come now. You don't really think Zoom is exfiltrating unrelated files from your computer, do you? If they got caught doing this, it would be such a major scandal... why risk it? And even though the client is closed-source I do think they'…
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can still. There's a small dark pattern to discourage it, though. You go to the URL for the call, click the button to launch the app, and when that fails, you see a small link to do the call in the Web browser.
every once in a while, someone will ask me to screenshare on a shared monitor, then i will have to explain i cannot , because i am on zoom browser. Its always great to see the reactions that gathers. Its a true rainbow: bemusement, curiosity, exasperation, outright suspicion...and everything in between!
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a pessimist who's often right, and not rich, this resonates. But how can this be true? Surely you get rich by being right?
Pessimists are just as often wrong too! Clearly the person you're replying to is an "optimist". :) To be clear, I don't think there's a strong correlation between being rich and being a pessimist/optimist. And to your original point, being right cannot possibly be biased towards optimism or pessimism. Any apparent correlation is more of a reflection on what everyone else thinks... and they are wrong! Cheers to being…
I do think pessimists, especially of the depressive variety generally do not get rich. The reason is that getting rich is hard, everyone nominally wants it, so it’s highly competitive and there are no easy paths. To find a path generally you have to take an action that almost by definition is low probability of success. You don’t have to be a beaming cheerleader to make this happen, but being an eyore is most likely disqualifying.
Re: I'll pass on your zoom call
#69How much time did it take to write this rather than Google "join zoom in browser"?