2020’s holiday season is going to be the year of the video call, since we can’t all spend the holidays together in person. But Zoom calls aren’t always the best, and you might wish you had a quick and easy way out. Like a panic button that disconnects your call right away.
Thankfully, Brian Moore, creative director at Anomaly, has developed a way to hang up from a call without any of the usual messing around to try and hang up.
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Mobile video calls aren't too bad, because you can just tap the “hang up” button on your screen, assuming it doesn't disappear for some reason. But on desktops and laptops? It’s a different story, because you have to fiddle with your mouse to find the cursor, make sure it gets to the right place, and then hope the button doesn't perform a vanishing act.
It’s a pain we’ve all experienced, and the worst part is that everyone still on the call can see everything.
Which is why we’re such big fans of Brian’s creation, which ends his Zoom calls whenever he pulls a lamp cord by his desk. It isn’t a giant red “panic” button, but it is the next best thing.
all files on github, if you're curious and/or want to make one yourself: https://t.co/di5WjDRk2TDecember 17, 2020
The exit button consists of an Adafruit mini computer, a battery, and a few soldered cables. Plus, whatever physical activation switch you opt for. It can be a button if you want it to be, or a comically large lever; you just need to hook it up to the system correctly.
In fact, your only limit here is your imagination, as David Zhou showed when he set the exit button to quit zoom whenever he lets out an overly dramatic sigh.
inspired by this, i made a script that automatically quits @zoom_us when i sigh really loudly https://t.co/tJUdSBPt1L pic.twitter.com/jzsh5BCi8pDecember 17, 2020
You can find everything you need, from code to building instructions, over on GitHub. The good news is this escape button doesn’t just work on Zoom, since it will also kill all Chrome tabs that have Google Meet opened.
Still, when your grandparents start causing drama during the holiday Zoom call, you now have a quick and easy way to get out. Assuming, of course, you have all the right parts on hand.
