Virtual meetings with family and friends

I’m sure many of you already know about the online video conferencing service called ZOOM but for anyone who doesn’t I thought it might be helpful to know about it.

I’m fairly new to it but have found it brilliant for keeping in visual touch with friends and family.

Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing service you can use to virtually meet with others by video or audio-only or both, all while conducting live chats.

Everyone participating in a ‘meeting’ appears in a small window on the screen then whoever speaks is shown full screen until someone else takes over. Listeners need to resist making ‘grunts’ as the full screen switches to them!

The people ‘meeting’ can be using any combination of desktops, laptops, tablets and mobiles.

There is a FREE version of ZOOM. You can hold an unlimited number of meetings. Group meetings with multiple participants are capped at 40 minutes in length, and meetings can’t be recorded.

To get Zoom go to https://zoom.us and sign up with your email address. You will then be asked to set and confirm a password. Only the person who initiates a meeting has to sign up for the free account.  Others just need to have the appropriate app and be told the ID of the meeting they wish to join.

Once you have signed up on their website it is best to download the appropriate app for each device. You can download the Zoom app on your computer or phone and join any meeting once the meeting initiator gives you the meeting’s ID. The desktop app is available for Windows and macOS, while the mobile app is available for Android and iOS.