Microphone Settings for Zoom

macOS Zoom Settings for Microphone

How I sound shouldn’t be a distraction if I’m talking with my colleagues on Zoom. I use a variety of microphones during the day. Built-in MacBook Pro, AirPods, and my trusty Shure SM7B dynamic microphone. Each microphone has its own sound and purpose. Sometimes it’s for high quality recordings or interviews, while other times for ease. Microphones are not the only variable, since location changes too. My team can tell you I call from coffee shops a number of times, which can be noisy depending on who ordered an espresso. My home office/bedroom doesn’t have much on the walls or floor, making it perfect for echoes.

Helping Humans Troubleshoot

Language is key during incidents

“Cognitive load” is a term that refers to the amount of working memory resources someone can process at a given time. Working memory is a limited resource in capacity, related to how we learn and process information. If we have a lot of distractions (noise) or are constantly shifting tasks, it can impact our ability to learn. Why does this matter? During troubleshooting, people are actively trying to learn about what is happening in a system. They need to gather facts and understand what happened. Decisions need to be made. Depending on incident severity, the pressure to get things working can also be strong.

Hugo, Through Design

Using theme design to learn Hugo better

I would play with site design every day, from when I got home from work until passing out after 2AM. My workspace was a corner desk with a large 22" flat screen CRT and a Mac mini, with barely enough memory to drive the display. My chair constantly hit the railing of my bed, which barely fit in the room. The screen made it feel like the room was bigger. What I worked on made it feel like anything was good enough. People used what I made and that was rewarding.