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2 April 2020
Spontaneous get-togethers
Besides the somewhat formal Skype or Lifesize for work meetings, there is an app called Houseparty. Beware; you open the app and you immediately enter ‘the house’ where you might find people you have connected with. With one click you can be in a videocall with up to eight of them – or be included by someone else. (Note: there have been claims that the app got hacked, but proof seems to be lacking. Do this at your own risk.)
If you can spare a little more effort, try to make a Mozilla Hub. This is more like an actual meeting space (a bar, let’s say), that you can create yourself and have others join. It’s a virtual 3D space, so it works with VR-goggles, but even on your phone it’s fun. It’s much more natural than a videoconference, because you have an avatar that can move around, and if you wear headphones you actually hear in stereo where others are talking.
Video and games
To synchronize your binge-watching, download Netflix Party, an app that allows you to start films and series at exactly the same time as your friends, and have a chat about what your watching.
For more low-key fun, the Happening is an app that allows you to create a group (maybe your lab, or sports team) and to do and play all kinds of things together. You can answer questions about each other, do photo-challenges or play scrabble and Pictionary-like games.
High-browse
If you want to get out while staying in, there are a great many museums you can visit from your phone or computer. For example, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has an online tour, but Google Arts and Culture also provides a great many artworks from all over the world (as well as a list of museums you can visit online). If you have beaten Netflix, you can browse the collection of IDFA for free documentaries, or order a movie at Picl and choose to pay your local arthouse movie theater for it to keep them in business.
Educate yourself
To keep your mind busy, there are a great many courses to be followed online. Websites like Coursera provide high-quality courses on a broad range of topics, by respectable academic institutions. Johns Hopkins University even has a free, two-week introduction into COVID-19 epidemiology.
For more creative or low-key courses (but with unpredictable and varying quality), there is also Udemy.
Note: If you like to use these tips, please never use a company device to prevent any interference between our business and your pleasure. And secondly, never use your Radboudumc credentials to create an account on any service. And use a strong unique password per service, so you will never be compromised if something is “hacked”.
Spontaneous get-togethers
Besides the somewhat formal Skype or Lifesize for work meetings, there is an app called Houseparty. Beware; you open the app and you immediately enter ‘the house’ where you might find people you have connected with. With one click you can be in a videocall with up to eight of them – or be included by someone else. (Note: there have been claims that the app got hacked, but proof seems to be lacking. Do this at your own risk.)
If you can spare a little more effort, try to make a Mozilla Hub. This is more like an actual meeting space (a bar, let’s say), that you can create yourself and have others join. It’s a virtual 3D space, so it works with VR-goggles, but even on your phone it’s fun. It’s much more natural than a videoconference, because you have an avatar that can move around, and if you wear headphones you actually hear in stereo where others are talking.
Video and games
To synchronize your binge-watching, download Netflix Party, an app that allows you to start films and series at exactly the same time as your friends, and have a chat about what your watching.
For more low-key fun, the Happening is an app that allows you to create a group (maybe your lab, or sports team) and to do and play all kinds of things together. You can answer questions about each other, do photo-challenges or play scrabble and Pictionary-like games.
High-browse
If you want to get out while staying in, there are a great many museums you can visit from your phone or computer. For example, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has an online tour, but Google Arts and Culture also provides a great many artworks from all over the world (as well as a list of museums you can visit online). If you have beaten Netflix, you can browse the collection of IDFA for free documentaries, or order a movie at Picl and choose to pay your local arthouse movie theater for it to keep them in business.
Educate yourself
To keep your mind busy, there are a great many courses to be followed online. Websites like Coursera provide high-quality courses on a broad range of topics, by respectable academic institutions. Johns Hopkins University even has a free, two-week introduction into COVID-19 epidemiology.
For more creative or low-key courses (but with unpredictable and varying quality), there is also Udemy.
Note: If you like to use these tips, please never use a company device to prevent any interference between our business and your pleasure. And secondly, never use your Radboudumc credentials to create an account on any service. And use a strong unique password per service, so you will never be compromised if something is “hacked”.
