Video with the Grandkids

Easter will be here soon! Many of you travel from Florida to see your family over the Easter holidays. It is exciting to watch your grandchildren hunt for easter eggs, open their Easter baskets, and sit with the family over a delicious Easter dinner! However, some of you may not be able to travel North for the holiday and your family may not be able to travel to be with you this year.

With new video chat technology, you may still be able to see your loved ones and catch up on news of your grandchildren and family. Two video chat technologies that come to mind are Zoom and Google Meet. I use Zoom for meetings with my business coaches and conducting computer training with my clients. I use Google Meet for connecting with Roger when I am in Florida and he is in Ontario, Canada. Both video chat apps work well from a computer with a web camera or from a smart phone.

Zoom is available for free from the Microsoft store (computer app), the play store (Android phone), or App store (iPhone). The free version of Zoom gives you 45 minutes of video talk time before it disconnects. One person schedules a Zoom call from their Zoom app, sends the invitation by email to their family member’s email addresses, starts the call at the scheduled time, and sees the invited family members as they connect. If the family member does not yet have Zoom installed, they are prompted to install the app before connecting to the video chat.

Google Meet is available for free from the Google apps grid on a google.com webpage (look for the grid at the top right of the page). Its icon looks like a video camera. You connect with your family members by entering their cell phone numbers in the Meet app and clicking video call. Their cell phone rings in the Meet app and when they answer you see and hear each other. Seeing your family by video chat for free is a delightful experience and you feel less lonely when away from your family over the holidays.

I hope that you enjoy being with your family this Easter, whether in person or by video chat.

I work with “Vintage Adults” to make your computers safe and easier to use. Contact an expert to get remote support, printer setup, simple-to-understand computer training, phone advice service, and computer security protection. Thank you for trusting me to keep your computers healthy. Call Linda at 239-567-0104 or text 949-874-3233. Be well.