Look good on a webcam

 

Yes, some of us need to do better. No shame in that. We have been thrown into working from home, video calls, increased use of socialising over the ether because social distancing and social isolation is saving lives and jobs as we stay safe at home.

There are simple things we can do to improve our visual look on a webcam.

makeuseof  has 13 ideas to help you improve your webcam look. You need a decent camera. You need plenty of ram because it is video and if you are talking and trying to open files and do web searches then you need even more ram. Tablets and phones will often manage video calls better than a laptop or desktop but that is if you are just talking and it can be limiting on a mobile device because you can’t easily do other things. Rehearse. Run your webcam and talk to yourself and open and close files to see if it interferes or slows down your computer.

Caleb Wojcik in the video explains things clearly, quickly and well. There is no nonsense. It is all good information and help. I like his plain background. Think of the backgrounds you have seen in webcams and don’t like. Think of the looks you don’t like. I don’t like people peering down the camera, am over the interminable bookcases and don’t especially like looking up people’s nostrils. Don’t do what you don’t like . Don’t overly worry, either. The more you video chat the better you will be.

 

Maxxlee 10000 Solar Power Bank

I said I’d be back with a bit more information about the new Maxxlee 10000 solar power bank. As I explained in my first post, it was the one I could get. In another time I would have bought a bigger one and a bigger one would have been available. We do what we can at the moment.

I am not unhappy with this at all. It is so sturdy and so well designed. I really like the dual torch. I bought it for the solar power , though. It charges my phone as fast as being connected to mains power. I have a Samsung A8. It charges my small android tablets effectively and quickly. One is my old Telefunken and the other is my old Galaxy Tab 2. It will not charge my iPad. That said, I am not looking for state of the art charging capability at this point in time. I am finding out what it does do and what it does is enough.

It needs to be fully charged on mains power and then it tops up on solar power. Charging my phone and tablet don’t take long so the rest of the day it can just sit there and soak up the sun. This way I shall recuperate the money I spent and I have a handy little brick which can solar charge my devices. I am now going to investigate what solar power units charge normal size iPads.

Technology helping with COVID-19

It was always going to come. We live in the age of technology. COVID-19 is now forcing us to find new and better uses for all this equipment we have been playing with. There are even ways to use computers to help find a cure for COVID-19.  The video explains a lot about how the world is rallying and using what we have around us by way of devices to help solve real problems.

A lot of people are already working online. More and more will do that. We have to shift ourselves into online workplaces, neighbourhoods and social events. We are going to learn we can build a virtual society and economy. Web conferences will be the go and parliaments ought to be running online. This keeps people safe but it keeps the organisational structures in place. They should not be abandoned.

There are already some good articles being published about how technology and COVID-19 are changing us and our world. There are articles about how technology is being utilised to fight against this virus.

All of this is sudden and baffling but we have each other…online. We need to ensure everyone can be connected so they can get the help and information they need. It has to be a priority that people can access and use devices to connect. Our world is moving online for as long as it takes. There will be adventures, frustrations, failures and muddles but there will be a lot of success and a lot of heart. We can do this. We have been rehearsing for quite some time now.

Do it! Clean those screens!

I am reblogging this post. You can find others on this blog if you search clean your screens. While we are trying to manage and contain the Corona Virus we are all looking at ways to avoid cross contamination. Phones and tablets need to be cleaned. Slate has helpful advice directly related to the Corona virus outbreak. 

Go on, get out the microfibre cloth, the sanitiser, the cleaner and clean those glass screens. Fingers and glass are a bad mix until we invent self-cleaning screens. I have blogged about it before. We wash ourselves, our dishes, clean our clothes and our toilets but we don’t think about our screens. It needs to become routine. Which? has done some interesting studies to show that screens harbour more bacteria than toilet seats. The article offers a sensible way to keep your screens clean. There is another informative article here about what lurks on your screens. When you have read both of those, take the test at The Oatmeal!!

Technology peeves

Image: Dreamstime

It used to be the Access denied was the most constant and regular annoyance you got with technology. Now we have a whole raft of annoyances to choose from. For some it’s the constant notification interruptions. For others it’s the constant spam and cold calls.

As soon as the New Year was rung in , I had non stop cold calls on my home phone and mobile phone. Over Christmas there had been a cease fire. I realised we still haven’t dealt  with this and it ought not be hard given most of the numbers are well documented on number look up sites as nuisance calls. The scams are getting worse, though and the people are becoming brazen. It’s a global problem which needs addressing as a matter of urgency.

Then there are the apps which suddenly won’t work wither because you have changed devices and the apps were not installed properly or they are no longer registered with the organisation for which the app has been created. So off you go re downloading things and then waiting in call queues.

Printers are probably the biggest annoyance. It is cheaper to buy a printer than the ink to fill one. You do not often need a printer these days but when you need one , you really need one. We need a better way of managing printers for those who might need one once or twice a year. The cost of printing a couple of sheets of paper is ridiculous and given ink dries up…not very clever of us.

Tech-Funnel has its top 10 pet peeves. Theirs includes so connections. Oh yes…watching the infinite wheel of death spin and spin and spin…MakeUseOf has its top technology annoyances and it includes passwords. Yes! Endless amounts of passwords and then you have to change them when you just mastered remembering them.

2019. I think we need to get onto these annoyances and make a real effort to a) make a very clear list of what annoyances we have with technology b) do something about it to make it a better technology world. We can all do this. We need to rectify  it because, truth is, we’d be lost without our technology.