Project Statement

Challenge

There is a widespread issue of accessibility to modern technologies and softwares. With COVID-19 isolating huge populations of the earth, more folks are looking for ways in which they can communicate with their social circles while at home. For many whose professions have been effectively eliminated by mandated social distancing, digital audio-video communication offers a promising solution to continue their work remotely. However, many musicians, teachers, friends and family, have difficulty in implementing these technologies due to either a lack of technical know-how or the technologies and possibilities available.

Solution

CYHM is a site that provides detailed instruction on the setup and configuration of audio and video software technologies. We recognize that the internet is full of well established and supported audio-video clients and we believe that what is needed, especially at the present moment, is a thoughtful guide that can walkthrough the installation and setup of these audio-video broadcasting softwares. We aim to develop a prototype web-guide that is reachable as a website from the desktop or mobile device. This guide will provide users of various skill levels and platform configurations (operating systems, home network speeds), tested, reliable, and up-to-date instruction on getting an audio/video connection up and running thereby allow many musicians and teachers to resume their work, and for even more, engaged within the communities they have lost since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Implementation

Our implementation is to build a static website that allows the user to select the configuration of the device they would like to set up (operating system, network speed, skill level) and for what purpose (performance, musical jamming, teaching, or simply video conferencing). The user would then be guided through a set up of a software that either the user would like to install or from one of our recommendations (which we will have tested ourselves). This would be a step-by-step design with each page being a different step, accompanied by images and videos of the desktop of that user's selected OS. Our plan, as a long-term goal, would be to have a wiki database, that would be a collection of audio/video streaming software we have reviewed, with notes on compatibility, performance, and potential issues and troubleshooting. From the website guide, we could offer links (for those interested - or with a high skill level) to much more detailed information about the particular software and its configuration hosted on this wiki. The web-guide will of course link the developers web-site and resources they themselves have provided their users as well. We would love for this wiki to be a community collaboration as well - since this guide will need to stay up to date with the latest changes in software.