Tag: Not Sports But Whatever

Cleveland news station’s ‘What Day is It?’ segment is what we’re all feeling right now

We all need this right now.

Let’s face it: time is a flat circle (I’m not even sure I’m using that right, but whatever!) as we wake up each morning and wonder exactly what day it is.

Well, the good folks at FOX8 in Cleveland have a feature they’ve started doing every morning that’s a public service for everyone watching.

It’s called “What Day is It? With Todd Meany,” and let me tell you, it’s a delight. It both helps you remember what day it is and it’s hilarious as Meany simply tells the world what day it is and leaves some dead air. This will never, ever get old for me. It all started on April 1 (that was a Wednesday):

And here are some more:

Bravo.

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What is ‘Zoom bombing’ and how can you prevent it?

A new, not-so-great trend.

Welcome to FTW Explains: a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world.

While we’re all stuck at home during social distancing and isolation during the coronavirus pandemic, hopefully you’ve discovered the joys of having conversations — or playing online games — with loved ones, family and friends on video conferencing services like Zoom and Google Hangouts.

But there’s a trend that’s become a problem for Zoom users called “Zoom bombing.” If you’ve heard about it and are looking for ways to prevent it, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a breakdown and explanation of the trend:

What is Zoom?

It’s a leading video conference service that allows many users to chat with each other at once.

What is Zoom bombing?

It turns out a complete stranger can actually come into your meeting or chat and wreck havoc.

Oh, like photobombing?

Well, it’s a lot worse than that.

… What do you mean by that?

Those strangers are sometimes sharing pornographic images, or using threatening or hate language. Imagine if your young kids were on, say, a school meeting and suddenly it was interrupted that way.

Yikes.

Yep. It’s gotten so bad that, as Newsweek reported, “the FBI has warned the public of the potential for ‘Zoom-bombing,’ after two schools saw their online classes get hijacked on the popular video conferencing app Zoom.

So how do you prevent this from happening?

I’ve seen a number of suggestions I’ll throw in here. The first is from The Verge, which gives you this instruction:

 If you schedule a meeting from the web interface, you won’t see the option to disable screen sharing. Instead:

  • Click on “Settings” in the left-hand menu
  • Scroll down to “Screen sharing” and under “Who can share?” click “Host Only”
  • Click on “Save”

From a mobile device, you can tap the “MORE (…)” button in the bottom right corner and turn off sharing in “Meeting settings.”

Business Insider suggested to go to “account management > account setting,” find the “waiting room” button and turn it on. That way, the host can allow in participants who are invited and weed out uninvited guests who will sit in the queue.

And then there’s a quote from a Zoom spokesperson given to Forbes:

“For those hosting private meetings, password protections are on by default and we recommend that users keep those protections on to prevent uninvited users from joining. We also encourage users to report any incidents of this kind directly so we can take appropriate action.”

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Everyone is pulling the same silly toilet prank on each other during social distancing

This is EVERYWHERE.

With everyone stuck in their houses, pulling pranks can’t be easy (and it’s a high-stress time, so not everyone is going to take those well).

But folks have found a silly, very innocent prank to pull off while in isolation as the coronavirus pandemic continues: they’re turning their toilet bowls into funny faces.

Let me explain further: you take a pair of toilet paper rolls and put them on top of the lid to make eyes. Then, you take an empty cardboard roll (it can be from toilet paper or paper towels) and stick it between the lid and seat.

Finally, you scream out, “THE TOILET IS SMOKING!” Someone(s) inevitably come running in a panic and they see this:

Seriously, EVERYONE is doing this:

There are like 10,000 more of these. You get the picture. For the record, I think it’s hilarious.

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Zoom vs. Google Hangouts: Which is better for video meetings?

A look at two of the most popular chatting services.

One of the only things keeping people and businesses in face-to-face communication with each other as the coronavirus pandemic continues is video chatting. It’s connecting without physically doing so.

There are all kinds of products to use, but it seems like two of them are the most popularity: Google Hangouts and Zoom, so let’s break them down to see which one might best suit your video chatting needs.

What makes me an expert? Well, I did some research, but I also attempted to use both for a call with my parents, aunt and uncle, and two cousins on Monday night. Here’s what you need to know:

Google Hangouts

It’s pretty simple: click on Hangouts (note: we’re talking about Hangouts, not Hangouts Meet. There’s a difference!), share the link to the chat with your friends, or invite people on the app on your phone and there you go! You have a free video chat!

The thing I’d say is Hangouts is useful for a small group. Once we got to five callers, it got a little chaotic with multiple people talking over each other at once, so you may have to tell everyone to mute and take their turns (although that’s not as fun!). But you can also use emojis and GIFs in the chat, which can add flavor to a conversation.

Again, I emphasize: it’s free and is one or two clicks away from being used. Simplicity is key.

Zoom

It’s built for business meetings, so some of the fun stuff you can add in on Hangouts is out (there is one cool feature I’ll get to in a sec). But I found it a little easier and more organized to use for bigger groups. And while there is a free option, it’s only for up to 100 people and meetings are limited to 40 minutes, so if you want to pay no money, you may need to have a virtual Happy Three-Quarters-of-an-Hour. After that, the Pro option is $14.99 per month. The Business option ($19.99 per month) is for 300 participants, and Enterprise ($19.99 per month with a minimum of 50 hosts) gets up to 500.

And then you can also do virtual backgrounds, which is neat:

If you’re doing a work call, however, note that there’s this feature admins can use:

If enabled by an account administrator, “attention tracking” allows (or can even require) meeting hosts who are sharing their screen to see if the participant’s Zoom app is out of focus (not open and active on their screen) for 30 seconds. There is no notification feature for attendees.

That’s it! Happy chatting.

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The true stars in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s coronavirus PSA is a donkey and a mini pony

Meet Lulu and Whiskey.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is already a social media star, aside from being a former California governor and, you know, megastar actor.

Now, he’s used the power of Twitter to get everyone’s attention during the coronavirus pandemic, imploring everyone to stay home with a video in which — and I kid you not, as the headline confirms — he feeds a donkey and a mini horse in his home while speaking.

Seriously, this is one minute and 40 seconds of gold. This is better than the overly loud “GO CHARGERS GO” video, and that’s saying a lot. This is Ahnold, Lulu and Whiskey, and I want more of this:

Arnold with Animals during the pandemic is something we all need:

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