Ending calls used to be so satisfying. Slamming down a phone handset. Snapping your RAZR shut. But now? You fumble around the screen, trying to find the one tiny button hidden among a bunch of others. So, one man set out to make ending Zoom calls as gratifying as pulling a chain.
Twitter user Brian Moore posted a video showing the lengths that he went to in order to decisively finish his Zoom calls (and trust me, decisively ending is important — just ask Jeffrey Toobin).
“I always awkwardly struggle to get to the end call button on video calls. So I made this,” he posted.
I always awkwardly struggle to get to the end call button on video calls. So I made this pic.twitter.com/4z4zsxNkeQ
— Brian Moore (@lanewinfield) December 16, 2020
The video shows Moore coding, designing, 3D printing and then, finally, successfully using a chain to end his Zoom call.
In another tweet, he explained how he jerry-rigged the system together.
“It’s an @adafruit Bluetooth feather. On pull, it sends a key command to my computer and then @alfredapp runs an AppleScript based on that hotkey that kills any open google meet tabs or zoom calls,” he wrote.
Others soon joined in on the fun, figuring out their own alternate ways to hang up.
Another user David Zhou responded with a video showing off ending a call by loudly sighing, something he was able to finagle with some creative scripting.
inspired by this, i made a script that automatically quits @zoom_us when i sigh really loudly https://t.co/tJUdSBPt1L pic.twitter.com/jzsh5BCi8p
— David Zhou (@dz) December 17, 2020
Twitter user @tjgreen repurposed a common toy to control his Zoom calls.
“As a programmer, I felt the need to repurpose a rubber duck for this. One button toggles audio, the other toggles video. Long press ends call,” he tweeted.
Love the pull chain solution. As a programmer, I felt the need to repurpose a rubber duck for this. One button toggles audio, the other toggles video. Long press ends call. pic.twitter.com/NYHUVkjIlp
— tjgreen (@tjgreen) December 16, 2020
And, in the holiday spirit, Moore even shared the design and code on Github so you can construct your own.
As for Moore’s future plans for innovative ways to end calls? Someone responded to his initial video wondering if Moore could create a similar system — except using a toilet flush to end the call.
“V.20,” he replied.