Zoom app

Okay folks, @T_dub and I did a test run of this concept of a Zoom get together, and it turned into a very fun hour and a half chat. Yes, I’m the one who was adamantly opposed to the idea, but now I am totally behind it. Let’s do it! I’ll even be one of the hosts.
Here’s a short clip of our meeting. Please forgive my raspy voice. After all that radiation bombarding my vocal cords during throat cancer treatments, I’m lucky to have a voice at all.

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Yeah, it was so fun, we chatted for 90 min.
I was quite surprised when I saw the time after getting off the meeting, wow how time flew.

@PamPurrs had a great idea about having multiple hosts in multiple Quadra spheres, so that there can be givin times for different sides of the globe.
Of course, anybody from any place could join any or all the groups, but this would make it more available to those who have tight schedules.

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After having tested this with @T_dub, and enjoying a delightful 90 minute chat, I thought I would setup another live hang for next week, but it seems Zoom limits us to only 40 minutes if we have more than 3 people… that unless I upgrade and pay $14 per month (NOT).
I looked into using Google meet instead, as I don’t think they have such a restriction. Has anyone tried that?
Or is this whole idea dead in the water?

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Hi @PamPurrs.
I think how some people get over the 40 min limit is to book a second meeting for say 30 mins in, but this needs everyone to log out then log back in to the new meeting I think, which is not exactly cool.
Never tried Google Meet?
I know someone in my extended family was paying for a zoom subscription, I could check if he still is, and if he would mind using his account?

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I’ve never used it but from the Google FAQ:

anyone with a Google Account can create a video meeting, invite up to 100 participants, and meet for up to 60 minutes (24 hours through Sept. 30, 2020) per meeting for free.

It sounds like it could work. :woman_shrugging:t2:

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Hi @emme, do the other participants also need a Google account, or just the host?

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It depends on the type of plan. For the free plan:

For the free version of Google Meet, all participants will need to be signed into a Google Account to join.

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Thanks for the info :+1:

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I’ll add that if jamming together is the goal, Zoom isn’t worth paying for. The way it picks up audio and selectively focuses (especially with a large group) is a huge challenge for live music. The article below might help but based on my past experience with a group of nine attendees and a single piano…it’s a hassle.

Jamulus appears to be the most popular for live jamming but it has geographic limitations, a learning curve, no native video AFAIK, and requires more hardware than your average meeting app. (Of course if any crowd is going to have cables and audio interfaces, it would be this crowd. :metal:t3:)

Best of luck! (I’ll be over here :sob: into my :wine_glass: over “Billie Jean”)

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It’s really not for jamming. The purpose of these live hangouts is just for us to get together and chat occasionally, and maybe share tips with one another. If someone where to play something on their bass, it would only be for demonstration purposes. No, we will not be jamming together.

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Hi @PamPurrs and @T_dub,
Watched your video, it was really cool, you guys look relaxed and the vision was clear as👍
Would love to get onboard for a chat if the time works ok.
I have had several phone conversations with Bill @Lanny Whilst working through recording sessions on the GB platform, I see it as a great opportunity to share ideas etc.
Cheers Brian

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I’m thinking of setting one up for next Wednesday at 11:00 am Pacific USA time. What time would it be over there in Aus? I’m thinking it would be 1:00 am Thursday.

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Hi Pam,
It would be 1.00am here, we are 14 hours ahead.
I normally phone Bill in Georgia between 7.00am and 11.00am local time which works out to be between 5.00pm and 10.00pm the night before in the USA.
Cheers Brian

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Just downloaded Zoom on my iPad :+1:
Time isn’t so bad for me as I’m usually up and around at 1a.m most mornings ( insomnia is a bitch) lol

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Can I get in on this party? That should be 1400 east coast time to me.

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Yes, this first one will be short because of the time restriction, so I’m thinking I might schedule two, back-to-back and we can just switch over.

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Thanks Pam. I really would like to meet everyone “in person”. It ought to be fun.

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I’ve setup 3 consecutive 30 minute sessions… 11:00, 11:30, and 12:00. This is a test to see if this will work.

Go to this thread for details.

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Sorry to join the conversation late, but I do not have an account, and when I was organizing the meeting for @PamPurrs and I, I tried to block it out for an hour, from the 30 minute default setting, just in cases it went over.
It told me I could only do 40 min, but did not have a drop down for 40 min, going from 30 to 45. I selected the 45, and got the same message.
It does not let you type in minutes, so IDK why they set the message up like that.
So
I left it at the default 30 minutes and set up the meeting and saved the settings, then sent the link to Pam, a day in advance.
Well
As you know, we were on for just under 90 minutes, and there was not a cut off, and never any warning on my end stating we had breached the time limit.

Since it was just Pam and I, I do not know if they control the number of participants the same way they control the time limits, or do not control it in reality.

I am starting to think that the controls on the settings for non premium members are set like this.
You can only state a meeting is 30 minutes, and you can only send the link automatically to a max of 3 other people.

Put the auto generated meeting message aside, I am not sure if they really do police these limitations or not. We know they don’t with the time, so I am sure that 4 of us could chat for, well, at least 90 minutes.

But what if a 5th or 6th or 12th were to join the meeting?
Possibly they do not police this.

My suggestion would be to do this.
Create a meeting, set it up for 30 minutes, and select 3 people to join.
Generate the automatic meeting link, to be sent to the three invited participants.
Then
Copy that link, and send it out to all the other people that want to join up.
When it is time for the meet, The host can start the meeting, and as the others join (and the host lets them in), we can then see if it does cut it off after the 3rd invitee joins.
My guess is it does not, as a matter of fact, I am almost sure it does not.

For clubs and groups and businesses that use this feature all the time, it makes sense to just pay, but for us to just do it a few times, I don’t think it is necessary.

First, we would need to set up a quick test.
@PamPurrs, if you can create the meeting and just give it generic settings, and then copy and paste the link here, then when there are more then 3 others that can all agree upon a test time (like a true test, just to log on, and stay on for just long enough to get say 5-8 people successfully joined up) and then run the test and see how it goes.

My real guess is that a we are going to be able to just use zoom for the meetings, with no real problems.

@PamPurrs. When you set up this generic meeting, the time and day, if I am correct about all this, will not matter, you could create the meeting for a Saturday at 3pm, and if it is Monday at 6pm when you start the meeting and have others join, it should not make any difference.

I also think the invitation to no more then 3 people for no longer then 40 minutes, may only apply if you are setting it up, and inviting people to join right then and there. Those limits may not matter if the meeting is for a different time and day.

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Zoom does not have a time limit for up to 3 people. It states that there is a 40 minute time limit for more than 3 people. I’m not sure how that works but I guess we’ll see. I edited the first hang (the 11 am one) from 30 minutes to 90 minutes, so lets find out. As a fallback, we still have the 11:30 and 12:00 ones.

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