Andrew Heinzman
I’ve always said that we should incorporate more pull chains into modern technology. They’re simple, cheap, practical, and they make me think of Victorian-era toilets. So imagine my surprise when technologist Brian Moore published a video of his latest invention: a pull chain that ends Zoom calls.
We all know how difficult it can be to end a Zoom call. You have to search around for one tiny button in a sea of tiny buttons, all while staring through the screen and wondering if your coworkers struggle as much as you do. Moore’s Zoom-call-ending pull chain solves the problem with incredible practicality. In fact, the pull chain seems to give Moore a sense of confidence and bravado, like a king flushing down whatever he’s left at his throne.
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 above video, published to Twitter, shows Moore coding, designing, and 3D printing his pull chain. In another Tweet, Moore explains that the pull chain is an @adafruit Bluetooth feather.” When pulled, “it sends a key command to [Moore’s] computer and then @alfredapp runs an AppleScript based on that hotkey that kills any open google meet tabs or zoom calls.”
If you want to learn more about the pull chain (or make your own), check out Brian Moore’s GitHub collection. It contains the files used to make the pull chain, along with info on supplies and wiring.
Source: @lanewinfield
