I've always just used iTunes on Windows to rip CDs. But the people who are way more knowledgeable than I am about sound software may have much more informed opinions than I do!

Me, I need some kind of microphone so that I can use my desktop (Windows) for interactive Zoom. I can always use my laptop (Mac) with the built-in, but the desktop has a huge screen and I can sit up and look more (OK, a little) professional.

What mic setup would be OK for Windows? Should I just get a cheap gamer's headset. It doesn't have to be Bluetooth, though I suppose if it was I could then you some kind of ear clippy thing with my Android phone...

sigh. technology.

We have a several years old $30 logitech headset with mic and it works fine for meetings. USB.

I used Fairstars CD Ripper when I ripped all of my CDs some years ago. It worked fine, and looks up the titles and such for you. Freeware.

I also use a headset with a microphone.

I have a cheap wired gaming headset for video conferencing - it's more comfortable to wear for long periods of time than my earbuds, and the mic works better. The one thing I wish I'd looked more closely at is the weight, because after a couple of hours they do start to feel pretty heavy on the top of my head.

I use a gaming headset, too. It's comfortable, and mine is pretty light.

There are zero cameras available here. My doctors all want them for their existing (old) computers, but end up buying laptops because there are no cameras anywhere.

I've been finding that, at least for teaching, the camera really isn't all that necessary. I find the headshots in a meeting distracting, and my students probably don't need to see my ugly face. OTOH, I do have a couple of lab demos that I am filming using my Lumix, but those will be uploaded to the streaming server.

My first attempt went okay. I couldn't figure out why the camera was giving me such a short maximum record time (only 8+ minutes). I managed to finish my first demo with 3 seconds left to spare. Then when I moved the file off the SD card onto my laptop, I noticed that the file was a 2GB .MOV. Next time I will crank the resolution down a little.

Heya -- with all this work from home, I've found that I'm pushing little Macbook Air to the fringes of its capabilities. I need a Windows laptop that has sufficient specs to run a large QuickBooks file alongside multiple complex Excel spreadsheets, and that can handle remoting in to workstations smoothly.

Any suggestions? I'm only working half-time freelance, as I'm disabled, so my means are constrained. Suggestions or recommendations would be very helpful. An older laptop model would be fine as long as it has the specs to do the above.

Thanks!

Woot currently has some good deals on Dell and Lenovo and a few other models that are refurbish. Today's main deal is even a 2019 MacBook Pro.

[link]