First Rule of Demos: It will Crash

The first rule of doing any live demo is that it will crash regardless of how stable the product is. That is why you will often see videos of computer demos instead of an actual live demo. Today the first rule of demos reared its ugly head at the most inopportune time.

I had a meeting with my boss and he brought up the topic of needing to delete some data from our data warehouse. Not deleting the data puts us in jeopardy of being sued and so I wanted to show him all the different areas that contained the data. I made sure I had logged into our company's virtual private network (VPN) so I could get into the data warehouse. Then I tried to bring up a virtual desktop which is required to log into the database system. It immediately crashed. I tried several more times only to have the same thing happen. Ultimately I had to describe the many different places engineers had squirreled away the information.

Fortunately I didn't need to actually do a demo as I accurately described the many copies of the data. My boss explained that because the copies of data are anonymized, meaning there is no way to associate with with specific people, they do not need to be deleted, just the non-anonymized data. That came as a relief. Ultimately nobody is using the data and so there is no need to keep it around but deleting it is not an emergency.

I finished my video call with my boss and decided to troubleshoot what went wrong. As you would expect, everything worked fine. That only shows the validity of the first rule of demos. 

Thanksgiving 2024

Thanksgiving is almost over and the uneaten turkey is sitting in the fridge waiting to be made into sandwiches over the next couple of days. I wanted to take a few moments and write about what I am thankful for. While it may seem like the world is in turmoil, there really is a lot going well and I would be remiss in not expressing thanks.

This blog is focused on technology and I am definitely thankful for all of the time-saving benefits technology provides. I like being able to instantly look up thing on the Internet. Want to know what stores remained opened on this holiday, simply pull out your smartphone and do an Internet search. Want to heat something up quickly, use that convenient microwave. I even enjoy centralized heating keeping me and my family warm as we gathered today.

That leads me to what I am truly thankful for, and that is my family. I got to spend this morning skiing with my youngest daughter who is a ski instructor. Fortunately she didn't have to work so we could take a number of runs together. My wife joined us and I am thankful for her. Later today my son and his family joined us for a wonderful feast. My parents and oldest daughter joined us as well. Then my youngest son joined us for a quick video call and shared his thanks with us along with his family. Yes, family is what I am most thankful for on this day of remembering what is important to each of us. 

I wish it was possible for my family to all be together on this special holiday but it wasn't. Fortunately technology filled the gap and those that couldn't gather physically could with a little help from technology. Hopefully you were able to spend time with those important to you today.

Children and Work Video Calls

I generally don't like to have any meetings on Fridays as that allows me one day of the week to get actual work done. Today I had 2. Fortunately both occurred this morning so I could get them taken care of and not have to worry about them later in the day.

During my first meeting I had one of my granddaughters walk into my office just as the meeting started. She is definitely cute and so I didn't mind introducing her to my fellow coworkers. She sat on my lap for a bit and then once she got a little fidgety, I sent her back to her parents and continued the meeting alone. Then at the end of my meeting my coworker thanked me for introducing my granddaughter.

This experience got me thinking about how appropriate it is to include small children in work calls. While you would never bring a kid to work except on that one day a year where it is allowed and expected, everyone is fairly lenient with work-from-home policies. It is not unexpected to see a dog or family member in the background on occasion. I am very forgiving when my coworkers include a fussy child in the meeting.

There are certain meetings where you would not want to include children, such as performance reviews or important meetings with upper management. In those cases, I highly recommend doing all you can to make sure there are no interruptions even if it means sending family to a restaurant or movie.

Ultimately we should do all that we can to keep small children from distracting work meetings. Sometimes it can't be avoided though as this morning I didn't even know my granddaughter had followed me into my office. When that happens, roll with it as inconspicuously as possible. Who knows, the child may have a positive experience and follow in your career footsteps. 

A Virtual Doctor Visit

Every 6 months I get to visit with my doctor and get a checkup. This morning I got a text from the doctor's office saying that my doctor was ill and wouldn't be in the office today. Instead I had the option of visiting with a physicians assistant or PA about an hour later without the hassle of having to go to the medical clinic. I didn't really have much of a choice as I had a prescription or two that needed refilling. I opted for the virtual visit instead of trying to reschedule.

When I got the text about my doctor being ill, I felt a bit frustrated but understand what happened. When you are a doctor, you get to spend your days seeing sick people. It makes sense that a doctor is more exposed to germs than someone like me that spends all my time in my home office being a hermit. I couldn't be too mad after that realization.

I met with my PA and she had access to all my lab results from my last visit. I am one of those people with perfect health numbers, never mind that they are pharmaceutically enhanced. Of course some of it is due to my constant vigilance to diet and exercise but the net result is my PA felt pleased with my numbers and didn't think it necessary to do anything more than renew prescriptions. That didn't bother me as I didn't feel the need to give a couple tablespoons of blood for lab work. I can wait 6 months.

I wouldn't recommend the virtual doctor visit for everyone. Notice that I meet with my healthcare professional every 6 months and don't mind dropping it back to a yearly visit. I just know that the next time I need to make an appointment, it will be in person and I will have to do the full lab work. It is nice that COVID-19 has made the virtual appointment an option. Before the pandemic, I would have had to reschedule. 

Late-Night Video Conferencing

One of the downsides of working for Sony is that it is a global company. Don't worry, that is also a bonus but it means that sometimes I am up early for calls with Europe and other times I have to stay up late for calls with Japan. Yesterday I got hit with one of those rare days where I met with our Brussels Lab in Europe early in the morning. Then later in the day I received an invitation for a 9pm meeting with Japan. Don't worry, I took time out for lunch, exercise and dinner so I wasn't working that whole time but it did make for a long day.

When I received the invitation for the 9pm video conference call, it came with an apology for being so late in the day. I responded that I normally practice guitar nightly at that time but would move my schedule around to accommodate the meeting. My boss, who is Japanese but based in Los Angeles, responded that he too practices guitar daily at that time and that we should have a jam session during our meeting. I thought it was an interesting coincidence that we both practice guitar at the same time daily.

The meeting organizer thanked us for adjusting our schedules so we could join the very important meeting. My boss responded by telling him to bring drums. I thought that was a great response and it got me thinking. 

Guitar players can be kind of eccentric with their long hair and wearing sunglasses even in dark rooms. I should show up for the meeting dressed like a rock star and get a few laughs before the meeting started. So my wife went and found a long-haired wig that I use for Halloween and I found a pair of cheap wayfarer sunglasses. Then I threw on a dress shirt over my Snowbird t-shirt but left it unbuttoned. Finally I set my guitar on my lap and joined the meeting.

My boss and the meeting organizer had already arrived when I logged on but didn't have their cameras turned on. They greeted me with silence and then my boss realized why I wore my costume and immediately grabbed his guitar to join me while we waited for about a half-dozen others to join. Everybody laughed and thought it funny. I pulled off the wig and sunglasses before buttoning up my shirt and we started the meeting. My boss tried to get serious and began talking but had trouble keeping a straight face for a solid 5 minutes.

At the end of the meeting we got a lot accomplished but we also had a good laugh that everyone commented on before closing. I figure if we are going to have a late meeting, we should at least have some fun. All attendees agreed.

Thankful for Technology

I have had a nearly perfect Thanksgiving today and so I thought I would post some thoughts about the technology I am thankful for right now. After all, I do try to focus that in this blog on technology.

My oldest daughter and my youngest son are both in Ohio celebrating this special holiday. We would have liked them to join us in Utah but that just is not possible because of work schedules and the cost of travel. While my middle two children joined us with family and friends, my oldest and youngest joined in on the celebration with a video call. Furthermore it didn't cost any money for the call. Think back 30 years ago when you counted minutes for long-distance phone calls because every one cost money. The ability to make video calls is one thing I am very thankful for.

This morning I got to head up to Alta and go skiing with my family here in Utah. We had the luxury of riding on high-speed detachable quad chairlifts. When I first started skiing, everything was slow-fixed-grip chairlifts. The new lifts whisk you to the top of the mountain in about a quarter of the time of the old ones. On cold days I would turn into a popsicle long before reaching the top. Now I hardly spend any time at all and that is perfect for when I am skiing with my grandchildren who hate riding the lifts but love skiing.

In thinking about this post, I thought about some of the bad things associated with technology. There are computer viruses, identity theft, and other woes we did not have to worry about 20 years ago. Fortunately the conveniences technology provides greatly outweighs the problems. If it was the other way around, we would stop using it. So life moves on and while it may not necessarily get easier, technology at least makes it more efficient and for that I am thankful.

Preferred Device for Video Conferencing

I have quite a few computers available to me at home. Currently I am posting this blog using my desktop computer. I also have a Chromebook that I keep near the kitchen. Sadly I no longer have my laptop since I have left Sony PlayStation. They made me give that back. I am reluctant to purchase a new one for myself as I am actively interviewing and will let my new employer get one for me. I am tempted, however, to go get one and then give it to my wife once I start the new gig. My reason for doing so? I am attending a lot of video conferences and my device of choice is a good laptop.

I have a great camera set up on my desktop computer. It does a great job but has one fatal flaw: where do I put it? My desktop computer is connected to a 43-inch 4K monitor. If I put the camera below the monitor, it looks straight up my nose. If I put it on top of the monitor, you can see a huge reflection from my bald head. If I put it to either side, it looks like I am staring off and not paying attention to anyone in the video conference. Basically there is no good place for the camera. That doesn't keep me from using it though. In case you are wondering, I have gone for the up-the-nose look.

I have used my Chromebook for a few video conferences but it is really under powered. I keep getting popups from the various video conferencing software saying that I need to shutdown other applications. The sad thing is that I don't have anything else running. I have thought about upgrading the Chromebook but the choices make it very confusing. A high-end Chromebook is more than a cheap refurbished laptop which will do a lot more.

I suppose I could use a mobile phone as well but the reality is that I loved using my laptop for video conference calls. If I didn't want to take the call in my office, I could bring it to the living room. When I was in Hawaii, I even took a few calls from the Lanai. I didn't even have to use a fake backdrop.

Fortunately my wife really does need a new laptop. Christmas is coming too. Do you think it is bad if I get a laptop for a month and then put it under the tree as a gift for my wife? I should probably add some jewelry there too.

Meeting In-Person For the First Time

This morning I got on a flight to head to the Bay Area for a quick trip. When I arrived in town, I headed to a local restaurant next to my office in San Mateo. A large group awaited me as they knew I would be in town and everyone wanted to get together. COVID-19 has prohibited coworkers from meeting in person and the group finally felt safe getting together.

We had a lot of new faces at lunch today. While I have seen everyone on frequent conference calls, today is the first time I have physically met some of them. This includes my data scientist that I hired back in January. We talk almost daily over video conferencing but I have never met him face-to-face. I have to confess that he looks significantly different than I thought. For one thing, he is tall. I always assumed we were the same height. Nope, he towers above me. There are other differences but nothing bad, just not the image I had of him.

Our department has hired a number of other people and it was good to meet them today as well. None of them looked significantly different than from the usual video conferences. I imagine that it is because I only see them once a week whereas I see my data scientist almost daily. I wonder how many other people are having or will have similar experiences once we all return to the office. Furthermore I wonder how different I look in person to the new guys on the team. Hopefully I didn't disappoint them.

 

How Long to Wait for a Video-Conference Call

I had a very important video-conference call this afternoon but got stuck in traffic and couldn't get on the call until 7 minutes after it started. As the call was a one-on-one with someone, that is much too long to wait. Fortunately the person I needed to talk with stuck around that long and waited for me. We had a great call but I felt miserable for being so tardy and apologized profusely.

This brings up the question in the title of this post. How long should you wait for a video-conference call? If it is just two people, 5 minutes is sufficient. If the person doesn't show up by then, you can easily reschedule. The question becomes much trickier when it is a group call. The easy case is if there are a lot of people and you are not required to present anything. In that case, you can show up at any time. Just be sure to keep your camera off and come into the call muted. This is similar to sneaking in the side door and is perfectly acceptable provided the other people in the call can assume you were in another meeting that ran late.

So what about the cases in between? Realistically you should always do your best to be on-time to meetings. It shows that you value everyone's time. Sometimes that isn't possible and you must be late. In those cases, being 5 minutes late is about as far as you can go. Sometimes the meeting will start without you but if you have to be caught up on items you missed, it wastes other people's time.

I felt really bad about being late to my meeting today and am glad the person I met with could forgive me. At a time when most people can work from home, I felt bad giving the excuse that I got caught in traffic even though that is what happened. Now I just need to make sure I am early to the next meeting we have together.

We Learned A Lot in 2020

A lot of people are really down on the year 2020 because of COVID-19 and all of the problems that it created for the world. I'd like to take a different point of view and say that it is a year we learned a lot. Furthermore we also progressed significantly in our technology and ability to work from home. Instead of complaining about 2020, I'd like to point out what we learned.

Most importantly we learned that global pandemics happen and we need to be prepared for them. Nobody complained when the Obama administration depleted our nation's pandemic supplies because we didn't think there was even a remote possibility it would be something we needed to be concerned about. Now we all know that while our healthcare system is significantly better than 100 years ago, it is not foolproof and we do need to worry about overloading it.

We learned that we don't need to be in the office to work. This one is my favorites as I have not had to go into my office since March. I find that I am actually more productive working from home. I also discovered that I don't get nearly as much done around the home as I thought I would when I traveled between Utah and California each week. I do appreciate the extra 6 hours a week I am not commuting by plane though. We have seen video conferencing technology rise to the occasion and get significantly better over the past year. I am thankful for that as I believe that we won't have to spend as much time in the office as we used to.

Some people have been very negatively effected by COVID-19 as they have lost their form of income. With every loss, there has also been a gain. A large number of people have learned how to cook instead of going out every night. Other people have turned to the great outdoors and exercise instead of sedentary forms of recreation. There have also been a number of new job opportunities created because of COVID-19. My neighbor that works in the movie industry has a job monitoring COVID-19 protocols on the movie sets, a job that didn't exist in 2019. Amazon cannot keep pace with the hiring they need to do for all of the online shopping being done. While some think that would be a lousy job, I have a neighbor who is thriving at Amazon and loves working there. Let's also not forget the huge number of people entering the healthcare field because it is now front and center in all of our lives. Always remember that when one door closes, another opens.

Yes, this has been a tough year for us all, but it is something we all have in common. On my way up to the ski hill this morning I heard the radio announcer say that normally a person will suffer through a trial alone. Perhaps family and friends may be there with the person. In 2020, we all suffered together. The entire world did and that has brought us all closer together . . . figuratively of course as we still need to social distance.

Video Conferencing Suggestions

I am finishing up my sixth month of working from home and last night found myself trying to decide between 2 different video conference calls. Actually there was a third one I could also have attended but opted not to long before last night. Video conference calls are not just for work either. One of the calls I didn't bother attending was for a personal hobby. I know that families are also holding them in place of getting together and risking the spread of COVID-19.

In the first few weeks of working from home, people tried to continue holding meetings as usual. It didn't take long for insightful organizations to realize one or two changes needed to be made. My company put out some specific guidelines for video conferencing and I think many of them are worth sharing.

One of the benefits of face-to-face meetings is that you get up from your desk and walk to a conference room. If you need to stop and use the restroom, you have the option. You also get a minor change of scenery. With video calls you can schedule them back-to-back all day long and never have to leave your desk. An early suggestion we received is to cut back on the length of meetings. Instead of a 30-minute meeting, make it 25. If it is usually an hour, make it 50 minutes. This will allow people time to gather thoughts between meetings, grab a drink or snack, and take a bio-break if needed. My personal preference is to start meetings on the hour or half-hour and end early. Starting 5 or 10 minutes late is a bit tougher for me as I find myself waiting at my desk for the appointed start time.

Another suggestion we received is to see if we can cut down on the number of meetings being held. Some days are so full of meetings that people don't have the chance to do actual real work. What I have done with my team is remove one of our daily stand-ups each week. For those that don't know, daily stand-ups are short meetings where the team quickly reviews progress of daily work. We have them Monday through Thursday but not on Friday. Should something come up and we need to cancel one of the meetings, we reserve Friday for a make-up, just in case.

Cutting down on the number of meetings also goes along with another suggestion: setting aside one day a week with no meetings, if possible. Unfortunately this is a tough one for some people. My boss has multiple meetings every day and so even though we don't have stand-ups on Friday, he still has meetings. I am one of the fortunate ones that has no meetings on Friday and so I don't have to worry about making sure I am at my desk during specific times throughout the day. I generally use this freedom to actually get stuff done. So far this morning I have taken care of a load of paperwork I haven't had time to get to during the week. I am also making sure to put together this posting during my lunch hour so it doesn't distract from the time I am at work.

There are many other suggestions ranging from what to wear (you don't have to wear pants as long as nobody can see your legs), how to make sure you pay attention (taking notes helps me), and always making sure you are muted unless speaking in the meeting. For those that find themselves attending way too many meetings, you can put together an avatar that will attend your meetings for you. It is a funny read and should put a smile on your face even if it does have one or two issues. Good luck with your next meeting.

What Will Work Look Like after COVID-19?

We had a group weekly meeting today at work and the question came about what the office environment will look like after COVID-19. A year ago I worked for a company that felt it important to show up at the office every day. My being able to work from home one day per week was considered a very special circumstance. Now that everyone is working from home, people are questioning the old corporate culture. Furthermore a lot of people are much more effective working from home.

Recently we hired a new project manager and while some of us are effectively working from home, on-boarding a new team member is less than ideal. It takes a lot more mentoring and hand holding to get the new person up to speed. So how will this effect work after COVID-19?

 The meeting at work today was held over Microsoft Teams, which is a relatively new video conferencing application. With the large number of people using the service, there is a lot of innovation happening with the tool. Furthermore there are a number of other similar services that are advancing at an equally rapid pace. Some of the new features being offered are making video conferencing a much more viable option as a replacement for in-person meetings. So how will this effect work after COVID-19?

My wife and I went for a walk this evening and the topic of our cancelled vacation came up. This led to the discussion of whether or not I will need to travel as much for work. I had one year where I went to Japan something like 7 times. We don't think it will be necessary to ever fly that much in the future but are not quite sure. Will other people want to be travelling as much as they have in?

Unfortunately I don't have any answers. I could make a prediction but will most likely be wrong. I would like to believe that I will be able to work from home most days of the week. That would really help me rack up the ski days in winter. I would like to believe that I will still get all of those wonderful trips to the exotic country of Japan. Unfortunately that doesn't work with the scenario of working from home more often. Ultimately the current work environment is evolving and we are not done yet. Hopefully we can all look forward to those changes. While many people are filing for unemployment, I sincerely hope there is a place for everyone and think there will be. Of all the things I want to be right about the last one is the most important.

Growing Importance of Video Editing

There are a number of changes that have taken place in the world because of COVID-19 and more changes are coming. One of the changes I have noticed recently is the growing importance of video editing skills. It used to be that specialists would be responsible for such tasks. Now more and more people are having to put together videos as we are restricted from meeting in person because of the pandemic.

I first noticed videos proliferating as a form of communication within my community in Utah. Once a month I am being sent a link to a video. That video is very high-quality and provides updates on the local COVID-19 situation along with a message of encouragement in dealing with all of the various situations we are facing.

Now I am starting to see a number of presentations being done at work with videos instead of PowerPoint. The reasons for this are many. Some people feel more comfortable creating a video instead of speaking live. Others are trying to ensure time constraints are followed. I'm also sure others feel that video allows for a more flashy presentation. Ultimately video has some distinct advantages with more and more people taking advantage of them.

Several years ago I started putting together videos as a self-improvement project. I figured it would be a nice skill to have and have put together 4 videos so far that are available on my YouTube channel. I am in the middle of writing the narration for my next video about when I sailed a 37-foot racing sailboat from Hawaii to Los Angeles many years ago. Hopefully I will have it finished soon.

Here are some of the lessons I have learned creating my videos and hopefully they will help you:

1. Find a video editing tool that works for you and stick with it. Most tools have a number of features and it takes a bit of time to discover the full capabilities of the software you have chosen. I prefer using the Mac over Windows and so I use iMovie as it comes preloaded on all Macs.
2. Try to continually improve on your work. When I went to put together my most recent video, I went back and reviewed my 3 previous videos and made notes on what I could to improve. My 2020 Yurt video is my favorite because I fixed quite a few shortcomings found in the other videos.
3. Have people help review your videos. One of the most difficult things for me is to ask for someone to review my videos. While most comments I get are how well they look, I cringe when people find problems with them. Unfortunately those are the comments that will help you improve. I have one of my coworkers who is great at this and provides very useful feedback. He isn't malicious but sincerely wants to help me improve my work.
   
4. You don't have to use all of the features in your video editing software in every video. When word processing software began widespread use, some users felt obligated to use every font possible in a single-page document. In the end, it detracted from the work. The same can be said of video editing software. You don't need to use all 50 video transitions in a single 2-minute video. Make sure the features you use add to your message and don't detract from it.
5. Keep track of the settings for what you did so you can use what works or make things better for your next video. I feel like every time I go to create the narration for my videos, I have to relearn what settings I used on the last one. Now I keep copious notes during the video creation process so I don't have to relearn the various tools I use. 
   

Hopefully these 5 tips help should you want to start creating your own videos. As I get more experience with my next video, I'm sure I will be able to provide more hints and tricks.

Video Conference Meeting with Lunch

One of the downsides to not attending meetings in the office is not being able to do lunch meetings. My personal belief is that lunch meetings are not very productive, however, they do reward the participants for attending a long meeting. They also have a benefit of allowing meeting attendees to spend a little personal time together and find out more about each other.

Today I had a several-hour long meeting that included lunch at the end. As I am in Utah and most of my coworkers are in the Bay Area, it is tough to eat lunch together during COVID-19. As a reward for sitting through the whole meeting, one of the department admins sent out gift certificates for Doordash. This is the first time I have used Doordash and so I needed to set up an account. Next I went in and added the coupon code from my office and saw that I had a $25 credit. You can kill yourself with $25 in fast food and so I thought I would see what other healthy choices exist.

I have to confess that I spent all free time during the lengthy meeting going through various menus of local restaurants. There are a number close by that I have never visited and so I had fun filling my cart with items and then erasing my order. Ultimately I decided on a local mid-priced restaurant that I know prepares excellent food. 30 minutes before the meeting ended, I clicked the purchase button. I had some of the $25 credit left over and added it to the recommended tip and submitted the order.

A map appeared on my computer and I could see the progress of my order. I saw when the order was completed at the restaurant and when it started driving towards my home. I thought it great to see the order come straight to my house. I guess that is what happens when you include a larger-than-recommended tip. 15 minutes later, the order was at my door and still very warm. My wife answered the door but the website also showed a picture of the order sitting on my front doorstep. I still had 15 minutes to go in my meeting. I didn't care, I just brought my laptop upstairs with my camera turned off.

I have to be very careful with how much and what food I eat. I ordered enough food for two people even though it was a single order for lunch. I split the meal in half and shared it with my wife. She loved sharing lunch with me and I appreciated involving her in my work meeting without anyone else in the meeting knowing she attended. We didn't discuss anything confidential and it was only for a few minutes but has to go down as one of my best lunch meetings ever.

If you are working from home but miss those lunch meetings where food is brought in for everyone, I highly recommend Doordash, Uber Eats, or some other form of delivered food. I will definitely remember this for future meetings. After the meeting finished, I made sure to send the department admin a heart-felt thank you.

My Favorite Video Conference Application

I have not been to my office since March 7 of this year. Fortunately I still have a job but not going to the office because of COVID-19 means that I have to do all of my meetings using video conferencing applications. While it would be nice to take my meetings outside using my smartphone, I do 100% of my meetings using my laptop computer. For this reason, my favorite app is based on features available for the computer and not the smartphone. Furthermore it is important to know that I use my MacBook Pro and not a Windows laptop.

There are 3 major video conferencing applications: Zoom, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams. If Microsoft Teams sounds like a new product, it is based on their acquisition of Skype and leverages many years of experience doing video calls.

Unfortunately Zoom got a black-eye with a security breech early in the COVID-19 days. Because of that, my company does not allow anyone to use it for meetings. My understanding is that Zoom did a great job getting a fix in place and has gotten a lot of users with their free product which limits meeting times to only 40 minutes and have less than 100 people. My wife holds a weekly Zoom meeting on Emergency Preparedness for people in our community. She likes the 40-minute time limit as it keeps her meetings short and they can't run long.

WebEx has been around for a long time and is the video conference application I have used the longest. Recently I had a company-wide conference hosted on WebEx with around 200 participants. I recorded the conference and then sent people in my company links to the videos. That allowed people to view the conference even though they couldn't attend in person. Some of the presentations contained videos and WebEx has the ability to optimize for presentation text or multimedia (video and audio). That came in very handy. I also recently attended a company-wide WebEx meeting with 1000 people, which is the upper limit for the tool.

Finally there is Microsoft Teams and it seems to be the application of choice that my company is gravitating towards. One reason is that we use Office 365 applications and that means Outlook is our e-mail and scheduling program. When you want to schedule a video conference, you just click a button in the calendar program and a Teams meeting is automatically created. With WebEx, you have an extra step of logging into WebEx and setting up the meeting. My personal observation is that the quality of Teams is better than the other two video conferencing applications. The audio seems to be more clear and the video is equally impressive. Finally my favorite feature of Teams is the ability to use a virtual background. I took a picture of Snowbird and use it as my background, hiding the ugly gray walls and whiteboard in my home office. It does have the added conversation starter as people continually ask me if there is snow still in Utah.

So what is my favorite video conferencing application? It depends. If you are looking for a free solution, I think Zoom is probably your best bet. Unfortunately I don't have much experience with it. I also like WebEx for large meetings as they seem to have the better solution. Ultimately my workhorse for small group meetings is Microsoft Teams and I probably use it the most. All 3 solutions are full featured and differ only slightly in capabilities.

One final note is that I never see the bill for any of the video conferencing applications I use and so I have no idea on how much any of them cost. If cost is an issue for you, then you may rank the solutions differently.

Sharing Information

Yesterday I hosted a conference for my company. It is the 9th one and it turned out better than expected. In the week leading up to yesterday I didn't think enough people would attend to make the conference worthwhile. It turned out that we had some last-minute registrations and I am thankful for them.

Yesterday morning I really questioned the efficiency of getting a bunch of people from around the world to meet in the same room. I wondered if the same people might be served better by a newsletter or some other form of collaboration. At the end of the conference, I asked everyone the question that had been on my mind while planning the event: Should the conference continue? I then tossed around some ideas I had on how to replace it.

While I expected everyone to say that they wanted the conference to continue, I was not prepared for the answers given as to why. Everyone agreed that nothing beats meeting colleagues in person. I could try sending out a monthly newsletter but people would just glance at it before throwing it away. I could set up a video or teleconference but then the important side conversations wouldn't happen. Ultimately having everyone in the same room for a day allowed for collaboration that wouldn't take place otherwise. I also had managers tell me that they are working to increase their travel budget so more people can attend next year's conferences. So it looks like I need to keep planning them.

This should not sound too surprising. Think about your own family. Would you rather talk to a loved family member through e-mail, on the phone, using a video conferencing tool, or be together in the same room? All the money spent traveling during November and December shows that there is value being physically together.

A New Laptop

Recently I received a new laptop at work. It isn't nearly as nice as my old black MacBook, but it means I have yet another computer. For a while I was leaving my work laptop in San Francisco and carrying my MacBook back and forth to Salt Lake. This week I decided to leave it at home and utilize the laptop the company gave me. So far, it has turned out to be a good decision, but the week is still young.

One nice thing about my MacBook is that it has a built-in camera to use with Skype. My new computer has the same setup. None of the computers we have at home have a camera and so it was kind of nice to talk to my son. He logged into my MacBook while I was on my new laptop and we were able to see each other as we talked. It didn't take long before everyone in the family was down in my office crowding behind the laptop screen to get a look at Dad.

Working 600 miles away from home can be a little lonely sometimes. While I spend quite a bit of time on the phone with member of my family, it will be nice to enjoy seeing them as well as talking to them.