Embrace the dark side

Which video conferencing platforms give the host the ability to remotely turn on other people's cameras?

The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities... some consider to be unnatural.

Edit: unfortunately it's fake.
- Unfortunately?
  
  That would be such a massive privacy issue that I don't think any video conferencing software would ever implement that.
It's probably fake, but if this bothers you then you should probably already have a physical cover for your camera.
- Electrical or painter's tape is a cheap and efficient solution.
- I just keep mine pointed at the ceiling unless it’s in use
- I also unplug it to be extra sure
One that allows you to see things that will never be unseen again.
Seems like asking for trouble... and law suits.

They'll have a great view of the electrical tape I put over the camera lens the day the laptop was issued to me.

I 3d printed a clip. Bonus, it's red, so I know what laptop is mine at a distance

Flashback to when I watched a naked dude go take a dump while broadcasted to the entire company all hands zoom, like 400+ people.

What do you rate the experience as?

1 = poor, 10 = enjoyable
- Definitely a 10, we all rode that high for a while.
- How could it be anything but a 10?
Fuckin legend
Does he still work there?
- Dunno if he's still there but he wasn't fired over it at the time!
- And did he get a promotion?
How did this happen? Did he bring his laptop into the bathroom?
- He was on a phone, so it's not like we had a clear full view, it was more like seeing some bits of hairy belly, shoulders, etc. But you could still clearly tell what was going on.

Laughs in hardware switch.

Laughs in disabling kernal modual.

Edit: I really miss hardware switches works only a few have them anymore.
- Laughs in electrical tape.
- Most of the newer laptops I've picked up some have hardware switches, but they do have a physical shutter that can be flipped over the camera which IMO is better as I can visibly see the camera is blocked
Laughs in "will you allow <website> to use your camera?" (Yes/No)
- Much easier
You also could use VM. From there you can toggle the device passthough
- I've always gotten too much delay with audio/video passthrough to voice calls through a VM, personally.
Dell? patented a laptop with a motorized switch back in the day. Let's hope it stays lost in the abyss from whence it came.

I once had someone keep talking on a video call as they took a piss. It was not only audible but incredibly loud.

Just today, I recorded a video to provide training and just uploaded it.

What I didn't realize was that five minutes in, my microphone picked up my sweet child screaming about how she stepped in cat vomit and now theres cat vomit all over the house.

Yeah I'm not doing two takes and wtf microphone, why are you picking up sounds that far away?

I'm preparing to be mocked once people watch that video.
- Meanwhile I've forgotten to turn off my music playing on speakers nearby my PC and apologized about my music once I realized only to get "what music?" in response. I'm not sure what sorcery went into this mic design, but it's great!
  
  Edit: Also, use an audio editor to record that so you can splice different takes together. It allows you to get each part perfect rather than having to decide at some point that it's good enough because you have to record the whole thing in one take.
  
  Power point has a slide record mode that lets you redo individual slides, too. It was essential when I had to get a presentation to fit into a 3 minute timeslot while I tend to ramble.
A friend of mine once attended a university lecture where the prof briefly ducked out to the loo... and neglected to turn off their wireless microphone, which was still connected to the classroom speakers.
- I'm pretty sure this was in a comedy movie. I forgot which one I remember it from
- goddamnit this appeared elsewhere as well but it reminds me of my favourite episode of masameer county.
  
  "what about your cousin? he married a european woman but his genes are so strong all his kids look like monkeys. 'Grandpa! Grandpa! We love bananas! We don't know why!"
  
  while it blares into the function hall the two recently reconciliated families are dining in.
I not only mute but say something that invites a reaction on the way to the bathroom to make sure that it is indeed muted.
- not only mute but say something that invites a reaction
  
  Hadn't thought of doing this. Good advice.
We all rebel in our own ways
We usually just do audio in our meetings, but I always leave my headphones in my office if I have to go to the bathroom. I don't care if I'm muted or not.
- I bring my headphones, audio on, and then put my mic close to my toilet so they can hear my opinion of their ideas.
- Mr. Boring over here
  
  You got to live a little. Give a presentation to execs while taking a shower

This is why thinkpads come with physical camera covers.

I just use part of a post-it note.
- You can get a little plastic window with sticky on one side and keep it closed when you don't intend to use the Webcam, my laptop now has one built in for the Webcam which is cool

Ha, I turn it off for your protection. Do you have any idea what I look like in the morning?

Try it mofo, my laptop has a hardware off switch for mic+webcam

Enjoy looking at the sticky side of some blue tape.

Still think the slide cover on my laptop is one of the most practical features I've ever seen
- Yeah my corpo laptop actually came with it. It's standard on all our renewed devices now. I was pleasantly surprised. Apparently the CTO deemed it so.
They'd just be looking at the palm rest for me. Laptop is closed and under the monitor stand, having it open just makes Window's show how well it does desktop scaling.
- You can adjust that scaling.

I once saw a university thesis defence back during lockdown, one old guy professor was doing a Donald Duck impression and was wearing nothing below the belt thinking that the camera won't pick it up anyway.

Then he got up to get something... and the thing flopped into view.

Dude. At least our on some boxers.
What thing? Why are you being so vague? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING FROM US???
- Penis
Was it his or Duck’s?

All they would see is blackness since my work laptop stays closed. I have an external webcam that I plug in as needed. I also keep it angled up when not in use so, in the very best/worst case where I forgot to unplug it, you get a view of my cieling.

The fact that that is a button is insane.

It's not actually an option, thank goodness.
- One of them (Zoom I think) at least used to be able to pop up a request for attendees to turn on their mics. I was glad to see it required permission, and I was not glad to see the host must have clicked that request.
- yet
- Lol got me good.
Or is it insane that it isn’t? I think life would be way more fun with buttons like that.

The last two Dell laptops my work provided me with have little sliders that physically cover the camera. I use them all the time while working from home.

LOOOOL not mine! Optical sensor's feed is cut by the doohickey, all you'll get is "no camera."

Interestingly enough teams defaults to the OBS virtual camera on my machine 😁

Lol and how many of them have webcam privacy sliders or tape over the webcam

Joke is on you; my camera is uninstalled, I am "computer illiterate", and I would rather install a toe trigger on my shotgun than work anywhere where I would have to do virtual meetings with a camera enabled.