Zoom

Zoom is a decent and popular video conferencing tool.

Functionality

Audio and video is initially disabled when joining the call (as it should be)
A client application is installed on the laptop (and needs an upgrade now and then)
A mobile App is also available
You might use a browser as well
You have the possibility for local recording
Separate windows for list of participants, chat box, mosaic view, presentation view (or integrated in main window)
Hands up/down
Ordered list of users: organisators, audio on, others (this can be used to create a presence list)
Participants require a pass code or secret to connect (increased privacy; to avoid hijacking sessions)
You might use Zoom or Teams as a backup solution for Google Meet (and vice versa)

The administrator can disconnect (harassment) connections
There is a waiting room (parked sessions)
You can split and merge sessions (nice for large working groups; admin configuration required => clients remain connected "on hold")

When opening a session, any voice call using the speaker is disconnected
The camera of other applications can be blocked (suspend/resume your laptop to solve this problem)
A speaker box might not be automatically recognised
You might have problems with conflicting sound devices; mike or speaker not working
- Disable or unplug redundant devices via system sound setup
- Try to replug USB sound devices
- Use Windows-i to configure sound devices
Free subscriptions have limited functionality:
- one single meeting ID
- sessions are limited to 40 minutes and 100 participants
- Have a paying subscription if you need more