Author Topic: Free teleconferencing for Windows  (Read 2711 times)

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Free teleconferencing for Windows
« on: 15 March, 2020, 10:10:51 am »
Anybody know of a good free teleconferencing app or website that'll run tolerably well under Windows Antiquated™ and is suitable for codger[esse]s verging on second childhood?  Our club committee urgently needs a confab.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #1 on: 15 March, 2020, 10:21:57 am »
We are considering Skype.  Still digging though.

bludger

  • Randonneur and bargain hunter
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #2 on: 15 March, 2020, 10:22:49 am »
My work is recommending Zoom. I've not used it yet myself but must be worth checking out.
YACF touring/audax bargain basement:
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Ban cars.

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #3 on: 15 March, 2020, 10:53:53 am »
+1 for Zoom.

It is free to use for meetings up to about 40 minutes. Paid version removes that limit. Only the host needs the paid version.

I've had no issues with call quality.

Eddington: 133 miles    Max square: 43x43

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #4 on: 15 March, 2020, 11:07:02 am »
Cisco Webex  - Windows 7 and above
Skype - Windows 7 and above
Zoom - supports Windows XP and Vista (!)

No idea if it actually runs well on the old versions, but Zoom at least claims to support them.

Zoom has made massive inroads into the corporate market, partly by making things easy to set up and use.

I’m not personally very enamoured of their privacy policies, but that’s a downside of any free service.

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #5 on: 15 March, 2020, 11:15:18 am »
Don't forget WhatsApp.

Slack is another useful conferencing tool, which has integrated whiteboard-a-;ike allowing you to scribble to point at thing (which fades after a few seconds)

Skype is the most feature rich public free offering, but it is also flakyy-est

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #6 on: 15 March, 2020, 11:37:34 am »
Skype, easy to use but sometimes flaky
Zoom great but limited to 45 minutes for the free version
hangouts seems to need a business account now but that is probably just me
Whatsapp  brilliant

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #7 on: 15 March, 2020, 01:37:22 pm »
Thanks, folks. Had heard of Skype being flaky, the others I didn't know about.

45 minutes for our lot yattering would go in the pro column for Zoom. I'll have a gander at it and if we need the paid version the club can pay for it, while it still can.

Cheers.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #8 on: 15 March, 2020, 01:47:50 pm »
We are looking at similar stuff.

I'd preface any meeting with a statement that a national emergency means quick and to the point discussions and decisions. Wafflers out!
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #9 on: 23 March, 2020, 06:59:34 pm »
We are considering Skype.  Still digging though.

Skype is poo.

Zoom testing to commence asap.

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #10 on: 23 March, 2020, 08:03:50 pm »
Been using Zoom with a few people.

I've started a simple game at the beginning to teach people the principle of delay.

OK - one at a time a participant says "One Two Three" and immediately after "Three" everyone else says "Four!"

Every time I've done that the others have said "Oh yes, I see..."
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #11 on: 23 March, 2020, 08:07:17 pm »
I now have four different video conferencing products on my work laptop as everyone uses a different one. All of them seem to come with instant messaging too. Its driving me potty.
My company is split across Webex and Teams and then there are the customers ...
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #12 on: 23 March, 2020, 11:19:40 pm »
^ this

As a Mac user surrounded by Windows users who claim that Macs are not compatible but then ask me to sort out file types incomprehensible to them, I am accustomed to just getting on with a shed load of different applications - each one championed by one person who hasn't researched the market.
It is simpler than it looks.

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #13 on: 23 March, 2020, 11:39:11 pm »
Facebook messenger seems to work quite well.  We had a four-way video 'conference' on that the other day.
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

caerau

  • SR x 3 - PBP fail but 1090 km - hey - not too bad
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #14 on: 23 March, 2020, 11:40:32 pm »
I now have four different video conferencing products on my work laptop as everyone uses a different one. All of them seem to come with instant messaging too. Its driving me potty.
My company is split across Webex and Teams and then there are the customers ...


Yeah.  One person likes Skype, another Teams, another Zoom.... family want Facebook messenger or FaceTime...
It's a reverse Elvis thing.

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #15 on: 23 March, 2020, 11:51:16 pm »
Google chat is quite good. We used to use it at my previous place of work. Less dropout if two people speak at the same time.

Whatsapp I've only used calling one person, so can't speak for that.

Slack is ok for calls and video, but no good if you have to share a screen.

Skype works, particularly for screensharing, but suffers dreadfully from dropout.

Teams is just dire.

Try Google chat.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

ian

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #16 on: 24 March, 2020, 09:20:59 am »
The mothership is killing Webex at the beginning of July. I can't profess any big love for it, leastways until they forced Teams upon us (we used to have Slack). It's notable that compared to Slack, all the groups and everything that used to exist have now died off or are reaching the defined state of moribund that if they moved you'd shout 'argh zombie.'

Call quality is crap too and in the cost-saving wisdom of the mothership they're dropping dial-in numbers, so it's computer only.

Of course, I get stuff elsewhere in Zoom, Skype, Blue Jeans, Google, blah blah. They all seem somewhere south of intuitive.

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #17 on: 24 March, 2020, 09:27:38 am »
Seems about right:

I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #18 on: 24 March, 2020, 11:36:07 am »
Has anyone mentioned that Zoom tells the conference administrator (not just Zoom's analytics) what else you're doing on your computer?  Apparently it's in the T&Cs or something (which nobody ever reads).  Worth bearing in mind...

Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #19 on: 24 March, 2020, 11:56:10 am »
Has anyone mentioned that Zoom tells the conference administrator (not just Zoom's analytics) what else you're doing on your computer?  Apparently it's in the T&Cs or something (which nobody ever reads).  Worth bearing in mind...

Run the damn thing in a VM !
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #20 on: 24 March, 2020, 12:02:09 pm »
What about Jitsi? It is free, open source, cross platform etc. https://jitsi.org/

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #21 on: 24 March, 2020, 02:08:18 pm »
Cisco Webex  - Windows 7 and above

webex sucks

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #22 on: 24 March, 2020, 02:10:40 pm »
Mostly used Zoom recently, daily meeting with 20 users (I've been working remotely for literally years)

In the past I've had good experiences with Google Hangouts: in the sense that it was easier to setup and use than Zoom and worked fine for up to 10 users

Zipperhead

  • The cyclist formerly known as Big Helga
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #23 on: 26 March, 2020, 07:19:03 pm »
What about Jitsi? It is free, open source, cross platform etc. https://jitsi.org/

I'm very impressed with Jitsi. Nothing to install, just send a link to people and off they go. We've been using it in preference to slack, skype, skype for business (just don't) and a few other things.
Won't somebody think of the hamsters!

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Free teleconferencing for Windows
« Reply #24 on: 26 March, 2020, 07:33:48 pm »
Don't forget to shout, "Alexa, play heavy metal!" just as the meeting starts.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.