Episode 41- Zoom Buying Guide

Choosing a Device

You can install the Zoom a wide variety of devices:

• iOS and Android smartphones
• Kindle Fires 8th Generation or newer
• Chromebooks
• Macs
• Windows PCs

While all will work, the last two will provide you with the best experience. Below are the specs to keep in mind.

Hardware

Musts

Intel i5 Processor– The i-Series of Intel CPUs are fast and affordable.

8 GB of RAM– This is becoming the standard but isn’t there yet. You can get 4 GB for cheaper but 8 GB will go a long way to preventing performance issues.

Headphones– This helps you hear better and helps prevent echos that can happen if your speaker is up too high and causing what the other people are saying to be picked up by the mic.

Level Ups

Ethernet port– This is the first step for troubleshooting performance issues, a wired connection is always faster than a WiFi one.

Headset with mic– most (all?) computers have a built-in mic. But getting a headset with a mic will help others hear to better, as well as prevent echos from the speakers, and cut down on background noise.

15″ Screen– If people are sharing their screens during a meeting, having a bigger screen yourself will be helpful.

• Blue Light Filter
  • This helps relieve eye strain by blocking the blue light from the screen. You can either get glasses or use a browser plug-in.

Blue Light Filter- This helps relieve eye strain by blocking the blue light from the screen. You can either get glasses or use a browser plug-in.

Other Sources of Recommendations

• Zoom– There’s a lot here.
• Cornell– Easier to digest list
• University of Denver–  OS and Browser recs, too.

Food for Thought

(Source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/10817-slideshow-intel-processors-over-the-years.html)

I mention the Intel processors pretty regularly here. So I thought a comparison between the first commercially available processor from Intel and the i5 recommended here would be interesting.