Video-calling apps for Puppy...

[mikewalsh]

Evening, all.

Video-calling apps are in higher demand than ever ATM. Darry19662018 has already mentioned Zoom:-

viewtopic.php?f=89&t=81

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We also have the perennial M$ Windoze favourite, Skype.....which is mostly pretty reliable in 64-bit Pups nowadays. However, don't go to the Skype website for downloads.....go direct to the Skype repo:-

https://repo.skype.com/deb/pool/main/s/skypeforlinux/

Necessary, because M$ have coding diaorrhea where Skype is concerned. They release a new version every 10 days on average....

Note; for Skype, a re-boot is advisable between uninstalling the old, and installing the new. I know it's not normal Linux practice to do so, but it just works so much better this way; a 'legacy' of the way things work in Windoze, no doubt..!

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Finally, a newcomer to Puppy - Google's "Duo". This is a development from Hangouts, which is disappearing very soon; Hangouts was primarily a 'chat' app, which had video-calling 'tacked-on' later in its life-cycle, and which was never that good a quality.

Duo, on the other hand, was designed from the ground up to do just one thing, and do it very well.....one-to-one video-calling. Notice I don't say video-conferencing, because it's not intended for that; for person to person, however, the video and audio streams are of astonishing clarity.

https://duo.google.com

Zoom and Skype won't work in anything other than a 64-bit Puppy. Duo, on the other hand, being a webapp, will work in a 32-bit Pup.....if you have the right sort of browser. Google, needless to say, have optimized it around the Chromium code-base; it doesn't work very well in Firefox.

The 32-bit versions of my Iron & Vivaldi 'portables' will work fine with it:-

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=59


Mike.

[peppyy]

Hey Mike. We now have 3 computers running Fossa 64 and I have found that zoom portable will not run reliably on the i3 laptop with only 4gb ram, (maybe 15 minutes).
Tried it on my desktop with the 6 core amd and 32gb ram and it works fairly well.

Still looking for something to use with the second grade class on the laptop so we can get them into the greenhouse this spring, (Virtually). I know they all have chromebooks so probably need something like google meet? I am guessing that would need chrome. Any ideas?

[Clarity]

Thanks for this thread, Mike.

I have been a user of DUO for several years. It is browser based, is VERY handy for laptop users.

It can make audio calls or video calls or multimedia messages or conference multiple family members or friends. It, for me, is OUTSTANDING in performance, clear communications (due to its compression protocols used),and ease of use! Security is baked into this service.

HANGOUTS which I have been a user of for over a decade is also outstanding, but it migrated into the business fold under its new name MEET!

Where DUO allows the user to initiate calling by merely dialing. MEET is an invitational video solution where one sets up a "room" thereby inviting participants (just as ZOOM does). I prefer MEET for the business needs I have as it affords greater protections than ZOOMs and the others (I am sure some/many may not agree, but for me it has NOT ben hacked, thus it provides the security I seek).

When I am signed into my Google ID, I merely open the browser to duo.google.com and make a call to family/friends...Too EASY!

Hope this experience is helpful

[mikewalsh]

@peppyy :-

Um.....yeah. Hangouts is being dismantled during the first half of this year, and its functionality being re-distributed; the chat/messaging portion to Google Chat (which will run from within a GMail a/c).....and the video calling portion is being re-launched into Google Meet. Nice thing about both "Meet" (video conference calls) and also "Duo" (one-to-one video calls) is that these latter two will run on 32-bit systems from any Chromium 'clone'.

You "pays your money & takes your pick", like..! The latter two provide decent alternatives to Skype/Teams/Zoom for users of older, 32-bit hardware, definitely; tonight, I'm in Sailor Enceladus' Slacko 5.7.1, and both are running sweetly in Iron-portable v88 running from a Xenialpup 7.5 'chroot'. Admittedly, with 32GB RAM I can pull stunts like this.....but it does work.

@Clarity :- I didn't know "Duo" will also do multi-party video calls. How do you set these up, giving that "Duo" doesn't use a 'meeting-room' with invites?

Mike.

[Clarity]

Conference calling (up to 19) via DUO:

1. To speak with multiple people, you have to create a group of the individuals you want to call.

2. At the main Google Duo screen, tap Create group.

3. Select the people you want to add to the group,

4. then tap Done.

5. Click the group icon to initiate calling the people

Here's a PCMAG article with pictures that can be your guide for all things DUO, currently.

Enjoy

[peppyy]

@mikewalsh The school uses zoom for their meetings so I did some testing It seems the limitation on the laptop is memory. I noticed after it was running for about 1/2 an hour that the memory was maxed out and the little 512mb swap file was full. I have it on a separate partition including a folder for recordings etc. It is 64 bit and upgradable so I could double the ram to 8gb.

Being it will be used in the greenhouse, I was hoping to use the laptop. I certainly don't want to drag this beast out there twice a week

Perhaps a wifi camera might be an option if I can use it as a second camera through this machine, or maybe the school has an extra chromebook like they give the students

[peppyy]

@Clarity I will have to check with my daughter who is their teacher and see what else they may use. I would much rather be a client instead of a host.

Thanks for the info, I will check it out.

[Clarity]

Hi @peppyy

The primary-secondary schools I am most associated issue Chromebooks and use MEET for classroom and conferencing. Very strong security embedding in the use of the Google Classroom infrastucture.

MEET can merely be used via a browser, also, with their IDs.

There is nothing wrong with MEET outside of business/classroom for personal use. It, like ZOOM, and others requires the author/original person to issue the invitations when starting a video session.

DUO and MEET are distinctly different offerings and are "foreign" to each other.

Thus they have separate use steps with DUO being akin to a telephone with a screen.

Hope this help in understanding.

P.S. There are tons of Youtube videos done by teachers-professors on the internet. Most are very good. In fact, it is easy for any of us to start our own classroom similar to what school-districts have for our school age kids or grandkids. I have been thinking about doing such for my grands where I could provide a classroom setting akin to what they have at school: So "no learning curve" and familiar resources to them. And we can interact as if we are in a "real" classroom/lab. Free from Google.

[peppyy]

@Clarity

Thanks, she said she can use Meet. I will give that a try.

[peppyy]

@Clarity Thanks for the in depth reply. It didn't work with Palemoon or Chromium, however it works very well on Firefox. (Even before it was updated) on all three fossa comps. Still have a couple tests to do but it looks like a winner, and my daughter says it works for them at the school!

[Clarity]

I counsel my grands to use MEET for school (and business use) while to use DUO for all personal communications. Both has extreme security baked in.

DUO talks/calls/messages ALL platforms; namely PCs or all Cell users.

Enjoy!

[mow9902]

I find these two services (via browser) work fine for me using chromium based browsers on F96 on a very old Dell laptop.
Jitsi - https://jitsi.org/

Freeconference.com
https://hello.freeconference.com/