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TECHNOLOGY
ZOOM LIKE A PRO
Gene Rubel
The Digital Device
Doctor cures digital
anxiety for seniors and
home/home-off ce users.
A graduate of Har
vard Business School,
“Doctor Gene”spent
more than 30 years in
international business.
He can be reached at
generubel@gmail. com.
With COVID-19
restrictions or safety
practices showing no
sign of letting up for
seniors, it’s time to get
yourself up to speed
for Zoom or any other
videoconferencing
service. It’s as close
as we’re going to get a
personal interaction
for the foreseeable
future.
Zoom has
become the go-to
videoconferencing
service for many
families, churches
and synagogues, and
social and educational
organizations.
For most families,
it’s free-if you can
limit a session to 40
minutes - and easy
to install, configure,
and use. In fact, if you’re just
joining a session, there’s practically
nothing to do except follow the
instructions. Zoom and most other
services work on any kind of
computer, tablet or mobile phone.
But before we get into Zoom,
there are some videoconferencing
tips that apply to any service:
■ Make sure you can connect
to the internet. As basic as it
seems, the services are web-
based, and you can connect
as long as you have internet
access through a Wi-Fi or
cellular network.
■ Pay attention to your camera
angles, especially with a
computer. Try to center your
faces (or faces in a group).
We see a lot of ceiling fans
because cameras are aimed
too high and a lot of belly
buttons when people stand.
When you join a Zoom
meeting, for example, it asks
if you want to “join with
video.” If yes, you’ll see what
others will see during the
conference.
■ Check your sound. Most
services give you the
opportunity to test your
speakers (or headphones or
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earbuds) and your
microphone before
you join.
■ Find the best
combination of
video and sound.
Sometimes, you
need to use a
computer camera
for video and a
phone for the
audio. Zoom and most other
services have phone numbers
you can use to get audio over
any phone.
Be Equipped
Regardless of how you connect,
you’ll need the right equipment,
whether it’s a laptop computer,
desktop computer, tablet or
mobile phone. Each technology
has its own set of requirements.
Laptops: Most laptops come
with built-in cameras, speakers,
and microphones, and they’re
generally adequate for Zoom.
However, you can add external
devices and either connect them
to your laptop or use Bluetooth or
wi-fi connections.
Laptops and Windows 10 also
have their own sets of issues.
The problems usually show
up as a frozen screen or loss of
video or sound. Windows has
a utility program that can look
for problems and fix them, and
it generally works. The more
extreme solution is to restart
your computer by clicking on
the Windows icon in the lower
left corner of your screen and
selecting “power” and then
selecting “restart.”
Desktops: Many desktops don’t
come with built-in cameras,
speakers, or microphones. If they
do, they may not be adequate
for giving you quality time with
friends and family or giving you
the clarity needed for online
learning. You can easily add them
and get better quality sound.
Today’s external cameras
have clips that enable you to
mount them directly over the
center of your monitor, and that
will look more conversational
for Zoom. However, you can
also find cameras that you can
place on a stand and connect to
your computer with a cord or
with Bluetooth or wi-fi for more
flexibility. Similarly, external
speakers give better quality and
sound volume.
You can connect a separate
microphone, or you can solve the
speaker and microphone issues
with a headset or earbuds that
handle both functions seamlessly.
Again, they’ll require Bluetooth or
wi-fi connectivity, but the setup is
straightforward.
Phones and Tablets
Zoom works well as a mobile
app on a smart phone or tablet.
You can get your sound and speak
through the device’s speaker and
microphone or through your
earbuds or headset. The most
limiting factor will be screen
size. The larger the screen, the
more people you’ll be able to see,
and that’s one of the reasons
why you use a videoconference
app. However, on most smart
phones, the speaker will always be
highlighted - and for some, that
might be better.
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AUGUST 2020 I ATLANTASENIORLIFE.COM
Be Connected
Zoom is one of those
technologies that probably hit the
market before it was ready, and
that created issues as the company
attempted to - as the saying
goes - fix the plane while flying
it. Zoom constantly upgrades its
product through online updates,
so be on the lookout to download
and install new versions or major
updates. You may also run into
a glitch of sorts not necessarily
related to Zoom.
One of those issues is a problem
between Zoom and Microsoft’s
Windows 10 that seems to appear
when Zooming on a laptop.
People have experienced unstable
internet connections, resulting in
the freezing or loss of video, audio
or both. We consider them major
annoyances that likely will be
solved by Zoom and Microsoft.
You can head off the problem
by checking your audio and video
when you join a Zoom conference.
It takes a few seconds, and if there
are problems, you can usually
resolve them fairly quickly.
Windows has a utility program
that can look for problems and
fix them, and it generally works.
Sometimes, the pre-conference
check will let you know that you
need to use either your internal or
external cameras and speakers. In
most cases, you simply use their
onscreen instructions to activate
specific devices. Some people also
use a combination of computers,
tablets or mobile phones to get
audio and video connections.
If a problem occurs during
Zoom, the first solution to try is
to leave the meeting and reenter.
You can also check your internet
connection to make sure it’s still
there or if it’s providing a strong
enough signal. One lesson that’s
now ingrained in our daily lives
is that technology isn’t perfect.
We’ve also learned that at peak
hours of use, the internet can be as
congested as any Atlanta highway
during rush hour - or any random
time that a lot of people hit the
road at the same time.
The more extreme solution on a
computer is to restart it.
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