Peter Boughton wrote:How was Zoom selected?
We looked at services which met our requirements, one of which was the ability to show an application running on the desktop.
I did send e-mails to a couple of technical experts in the club requesting advice, but did not receive a response from either person.
Peter Boughton wrote:The browser addon has permission to access accounts.google.com - i.e. my Google account - I will not be installing any such software.
From what I have seen, Zoom interfaces with Google to make scheduling meetings more straightforward. It is necessary to enter a userid and password each time Google is used in that way. I very much doubt that Zoom is using data from Google for anything other than the stated purposes. That is a sure route to defending an expensive class action in the litigious US.
It is possible to use Zoom solely via a browser without installing the add-on but it does not have the same range of functions. I have not yet tested it, but it should be sufficient to participate in our meetings. For anyone thinking of doing this, Chrome is the recommended browser. The relevant Zoom support page, link below, has further information.
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articl ... Web-ClientPeter Boughton wrote:I don't have experience with video conferencing, but
Jitsi Meet appears to run entirely in browser, with no special permissions required - I would much prefer using a service such as that.
Jitsi prompted me to link my calendar, although it was not compulsory, and one option offered was Google. From a cursory inspection, the functionality looked similar to Zoom's. Obviously, I would need to look at it more closely to be certain.
Personally, I would prefer to use a commercial service as the provider has a greater incentive to ensure that the service works as specified and there is a contract in place. Zoom will cost the club £12 a month, which is a small price to pay for such assurance. It is certainly a lot cheaper than hiring the church hall.
Whether or not you choose to participate in our virtual meetings is your choice. I hope that you will choose to join us.