The General Technology Thread

[eldirector]

I feel bad for you guys, I cannot stand Skype. We use Webex, which I find to work a LOT better.

I wish we would pick one collaboration platform and stick with it. We bounce around between Skype, Collab, Teams, and Slack, depending on which part of the company you are working with. I literally have 3 IM apps running at all times. Sigh...

Looks like my options are:

1) try the eMeet thing, and see if it works. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SK6SCKC

2) spend more on the Logitech version. https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Conference-BCC950-Webcam-Speakerphone/dp/B0083I7Y8W

3) suck it up, and get separate webcams and speakerphones.

 

[KLB]

I'd go separate, or just ignore the camera

 

[jkaetz]

These are in our small conference rooms and seem to do well.
https://smile.amazon.com/Jabra-Spea...5?keywords=voip+speaker&qid=1579023644&sr=8-5

I believe they also have a bluetooth version if you need it to connect to a phone but wired is far superior for use with a computer.

 

[Hop]

Teams sucks! At least Skype integrated into Outlook so you could search emails &/or IMs for conversations. Now I have to search both apps. Outlook is horrible at indexing/searching. Teams is as bad or worse.

Whatever bean counting executive @ my company forced us off of Lotus Notes & onto O365/Teams needs beat with a stick!

Those little round Jabra speakers are nice. We have a few here at work.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Skype is on the way out. Microsoft replacing it with Teams. Forcing Teams down your throats.

Does have some clunky Webex integration.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Bipartisan bill in the Senate aims to stave off China's / Huawei's 5G dominance (PDF)

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I feel bad for you guys, I cannot stand Skype. We use Webex, which I find to work a LOT better.

I have an older version of this speaker which works well with my Cell Phone as a speaker phone.
https://smile.amazon.com/Harman-Kar...&qid=1579011848&sprefix=harman,aps,163&sr=8-3

It was OK for music, and I imagine the newer ones are better.

I use an actual Cisco IP phone at home. We use Cisco VOIP at my company, so it is really easy.

Skype works well enough for what we use it for. I do know that when we used to use it at home to talk to DoggyMama's parents (video chat) when they were in Florida it wasn't very good, but I don't know how much of that was our internet and how much was Skype.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Skype is on the way out. Microsoft replacing it with Teams. Forcing Teams down your throats.

Does have some clunky Webex integration.

I work for the government... which means we won't get the latest technology until it's 5 or 6 years old.

 

[jamil]

'nuther random question for my fellow nerds.

Conferencing for home office. What do you all use? Recommend?

I have a great headset from Jabra, but it is annoying to wear all day. I have been looking at USB or Bluetooth "speakerphones", and found both a Sennheiser and a Jabra that look good. I tried using my Echo Dot, and well, it sucks. Have to "dial in" using voice, and then audio quality is terrible.

I have also been kicking around something for video conferencing (webcam). The folks I tend to work with are starting to use video to feel more "connected". Guess I need to shave....

Wish I could find an all-in-one solution that was reasonable quality AND cost effective. Clear video, good noise cancelling mics, and full/rich audio (good enough for music). Amazon has an eMeet branded device, but not only have I never heard of them, they don't seem to even have a website. Everything else seems to either be a webcam/mic only, OR is a pretty expensive conference room solution.

So, whatcha got?

The Jabra speaker is quite good. The equipment at work doesn’t work all that well (Microsoft) so we’ve been using Jabra’s in-office for meetings with remote employees. When I’m remote I have a pair of wireless Sony noise canceling headphones that are very nice. They’re lightweight and quite comfy. I can wear them for hours. And they integrate well with “phone” and meetings. I can answer phone calls or attend remote meetings. I prefer the headphones at home because it is sometimes difficult to hear everyone remote.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

London police to deploy facial recognition cameras across the city: Privacy campaigners called the move 'a serious threat to civil liberties'

 

[Phase2]

A long way from general application, but this looks interesting:

Immune cell that kills most cancers discovered by accident by British scientists

 

[jamil]

A long way from general application, but this looks interesting:

Immune cell that kills most cancers discovered by accident by British scientists

Nah. That’s gonna get killed. I know a guy who works for a small pharma company that developed a drug which makes chemo more focused, so that much lower doses of chemo have the same effect, thus making it less dangerous and crappy for patients. Big pharma that makes chemo drugs have lobbied to prevent its approval. Cancer treatment is big money.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

but seriously every time I see this it feels like a marketing gimmick

 

[jedi]

Does one really need that level of **speed** for the mundane things they do: email, office software, porn watching.

 

[jamil]

Is it really all that more performant than HDD with a big ass cache and good memory management?

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Is it really all that more performant than HDD with a big ass cache and good memory management?

SSHD vs HDD, or SSD vs HDD?

If the latter, yes.

I don't have enough experience with SSHD to answer that, though.

 

[wtburnette]

When I switched to SSD, I took out my old HDD and installed a fresh install on the SSD. I used it for a couple of weeks and while it felt a little bit faster, it just didn't seem *that* much faster. I put my old HDD back in, waited about 3x as long for it to boot up, waited around 2x as long for it to log me in and get me to the desktop, used it for just a few minutes and shut it down to put the SSD back in. Everyday tasks are just faster, enough that going back just isn't an option and my HDD was a 7200RPM drive with a large cache. Clicking on a menu and having it pop up with no delay, or launching a program with no delay is a real treat and not something I ever experienced with a HDD.

 

[jamil]

When I switched to SSD, I took out my old HDD and installed a fresh install on the SSD. I used it for a couple of weeks and while it felt a little bit faster, it just didn't seem *that* much faster. I put my old HDD back in, waited about 3x as long for it to boot up, waited around 2x as long for it to log me in and get me to the desktop, used it for just a few minutes and shut it down to put the SSD back in. Everyday tasks are just faster, enough that going back just isn't an option and my HDD was a 7200RPM drive with a large cache. Clicking on a menu and having it pop up with no delay, or launching a program with no delay is a real treat and not something I ever experienced with a HDD.

My MBP has a SSD. And I guess I’m kinda used to that. I’m wondering about the benefits of a hybrid. Because it seems like with SSHD, the SSD part is just acting like a big ass cache on a HDD. The idea is to get the cheap storage of HDD, with the speed of a SSD. I’d like to know if it’s really all that.

 

[wtburnette]

Yeah, like GPIA7R, I dunno cause I've never used one...

 

[JettaKnight]

A long way from general application, but this looks interesting:

Immune cell that kills most cancers discovered by accident by British scientists

It's the Telegraph, so take it with skepticism. British scientist and journalist seem to have a thing for bogus science stories.