Post #3

 Hello again.

First, I wanted to start off with a video clip of one of my classes on Zoom. This is a math class where I use the screen share and annotate features I mentioned in my last post.

As you can see, these features are very useful for class, in particular something like a math class where you often have to draw diagrams. This video was made using Zoom’s built-in recording function, which is very handy. It creates a video that you can either save in cloud storage for a paid account (which I’ll go into later) or on your device.

On another note, this is the first time I’ve ever uploaded anything onto YouTube. While I’ve had a YouTube account for many years, I’ve only ever used it to consume content, not create content. It was interesting to upload a video and see what YouTube is like from the other side, so to speak.

Now, I want to talk about some downsides of Zoom.

A major positive of Zoom is that it is free to use. However, the features for a free account are limited and have gotten even more limited over the years. You can see the features for a Basic (free) vs. Pro vs. Business account below.

Zoom. (2022.) Retrieved from https://zoom.us/pricing.

The Basic account used to only have a 40 minute time limit for meetings with more than three people. However, in May 2022, this changed so that the Basic account has a 40 minute time limit for any meeting. A similar thing happened with cloud storage, as the Basic account used to have cloud storage, which is now unavailable.

Clearly, Zoom is eliminating these features from the Basic account to incentivize users to pay for an account. It is understandable that Zoom wants to make money from its users. However, it is rather disappointing that they are restricting more features from the Basic account to do this rather than just making those features part of paid accounts in the first place. Also, the pricing is not cheap as the next level, the Pro account, is $200/year per user.

In comparison, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams are other communication platforms that provide similar services to Zoom. You can see some comparisons between the three below.

Devoteam. (2022.) Retrieved from https://gcloud.devoteam.com/blog/comparing-zoom-microsoft-teams-and-google-meet/.

Each of the platforms has their own advantages and disadvantages. For example, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams have no time limit on calls, while Zoom has a time limit of 40 minutes. Google Meet has full integration with Google Apps and Microsoft Teams has full integration with Office 365. However, Zoom has a waiting room feature for participants that join early while Google Meet and Microsoft Teams don’t.

None of these platforms can definitively and absolutely be called the best. People have their own preferences for what features are important to them. Now that I’ve shown you these other options, what is the best choice for you?