[HN Gopher] Show HN: Drop-in audio & video chat for remote teams
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       Show HN: Drop-in audio & video chat for remote teams
        
       Author : morajabi
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2021-06-21 09:26 UTC (13 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (usenoor.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (usenoor.com)
        
       | knubie wrote:
       | This looks really slick. I like how compact the UI is. It almost
       | feels like it's part of the OS and just kind of blends into the
       | background and gets out of your way. It makes full-window apps
       | like Zoom and Discord feel quite clunky / antiquated by
       | comparison. Congrats on launching!
        
       | psimm wrote:
       | The UI looks great! As others have said, I like how compact it
       | is. It doesn't get in the way as much as MS Teams and Discord do.
       | I also like that it is lightweight. It's important to me that the
       | app stays performant while sharing the screen. MS Teams is too
       | laggy.
       | 
       | Have you looked at Tuple? Noor seems quite similar. Could you
       | please explain a bit more about the differences between Noor and
       | Tuple?
       | 
       | Finally, as others have said: lack of Windows compatibility is a
       | dealbreaker for me for now. A performant Windows app would be
       | fantastic. That's also something that Tuple doesn't have.
        
       | aminozuur wrote:
       | Congrats. It looks great :).
        
       | celim307 wrote:
       | Discord fills this need for us
        
         | morajabi wrote:
         | Discord's UX is not even comparable to Noor :) You use what
         | works best for you though.
        
           | spoonjim wrote:
           | Are the founder of this company? This is a bad look and I
           | wouldn't want to use an app from a CEO who responds
           | inappropriately to posts like this (because I want to use
           | products from companies with good decisionmakers).
        
             | morajabi wrote:
             | Ok, when you launch something and work days and nights on
             | it, when someone who has never downloaded your app comments
             | "we use X and this is unnecessary" I'd love to see your
             | reaction.
        
               | spoonjim wrote:
               | I did launch something. I did work days and nights on it.
               | It did have critics from people who have never downloaded
               | it. And I always responded in a way befitting of my
               | position as the CEO of the company.
               | 
               | Frankly I am in the market for collaboration software
               | (who isn't) and I'm not even going to evaluate this now,
               | because I don't want to entrust my workflow and my data
               | to a company whose leader thinks that working "days and
               | nights" is an excuse for behaving unprofessionally. There
               | are many ways you could have responded to that comment
               | that would make your company look better: even something
               | as simple as "Discord and Noor have very different user
               | experiences. Please try Noor and tell me what you think!"
               | would have been a vast improvement over where you took
               | it.
        
             | steveharman wrote:
             | Seconded.
             | 
             | Also, Discord works perfectly for us since switching from
             | Slack and coats us nothing for a team of nearly 20.
             | 
             | All our text chat, screen sharing, group and 1-1 calling
             | (voice or video) plus adhoc "drop in meetings" are all in a
             | single app.
             | 
             | Which is available now for every desktop and mobile
             | platform. (We're all Mac + Linux)
        
       | thatsamonad wrote:
       | One of the huge benefits I've seen since switching to remote work
       | is fewer distractions due to "shoulder taps" throughout the day.
       | It seems like this app is meant to recreate an environment where
       | more of those interruptions can occur again. Why is this
       | desirable? What happens if management mandates this "open
       | hangout" type of system and requires that people who need to
       | focus are still available for "drop ins" at all times?
       | 
       | I feel like I'm missing something, here, but this app may not be
       | for me.
        
         | willio58 wrote:
         | I think this drop-in style meeting space is best being
         | optional.
         | 
         | At my work, we have a 3hr block of time on Fridays that's a
         | place to hang out/learn from each other/fix issues in a
         | collaborative environment. It's 100% optional.
        
         | morajabi wrote:
         | Of course, we have focus preferences. But management can also
         | make replying to any Slack DM mandatory as well. This is bad
         | management, not Slack's fault, right?
         | 
         | After all, I'd like to be in one conversation, rather than be
         | chatting to 5 different people simultaneously over a long time
         | and get constant notifications.
         | 
         | With Noor, you jump in, get it done and get out (if it's for a
         | task). But with Slack, you have to keep a chat thread open in
         | your head for a long time, and get constant notifications, or
         | get dragged into multiple chats at once. So which is worse?
         | 
         | Noor is also much better than the office, since in the office
         | you have to respond to a shoulder tap, but in Noor it's just
         | one click to go to focus mode, or go to a room, so people know
         | you're talking, or just ignore nudges. You can't say those
         | interactions in the office were all bad, because it's clear
         | there is something special about collaborating in an office.
         | Remove office distractions, but keep the collaboration. Sounds
         | like Noor.
        
       | frankbreetz wrote:
       | >>We accept credit cards through PayPal, and crypto currencies.
       | If you choose PayPal, %20 will be added to the price to cover the
       | fees and the hassle we'll have to deal with.
       | 
       | So, there is a 20% markup for not using crypto? It doesn't even
       | say which crypto is accpeted...
       | 
       | If you don't like PayPal, why is there no other option for a
       | credit card?
        
         | aminozuur wrote:
         | It seems like the creators are based in Iran. I suspect it's
         | due to sanctions; credit card companies are not allowed to
         | transact with Iran.
        
       | morajabi wrote:
       | Noor is a desktop app for drop-in audio and video chat for teams.
       | You can download it for macOS to try it right now with your
       | coworkers.
       | 
       | -> How it started
       | 
       | I've worked remotely for global teams, but in our own team, we
       | sometimes worked in our office, and most of the time from home.
       | This resulted in realizing *how much we lose when we switch from
       | the office*.
       | 
       | -> Why we need such app?
       | 
       | Let's imagine what you have when you work in-person: 1. You have
       | the office environments (chats, breaks, jokes, games, coworking,
       | helping each other quickly, coming together for lunch, etc)
       | 
       | 2. Slack
       | 
       | 3. Meeting room
       | 
       | Now when you go remote, you only have:
       | 
       | 1. ????
       | 
       | 2. Slack
       | 
       | 3. Zoom
       | 
       | What happened to the first part? Bingo, you lost it! And you
       | don't even know it can be solved. We solved it. You can use it
       | for anything, such as
       | 
       | 1. Talking to the team, instead of just texting
       | 
       | 2. Collaborating in any app with one click voice, video and
       | screen share
       | 
       | 3. Being present for your junior devs
       | 
       | 4. Getting feedback on your work quickly (with the ability to
       | spontaneously enable camera and see their real reactions!)
       | 
       | 5. Unplanned meetings, natural gatherings, 1:1s, etc
       | 
       | 6. Helping teammates instantly with their code
       | 
       | 7. Getting together impromptu in a room to talk, play or hang out
       | 
       | 9. Handling emergency situations elegantly when every one needs
       | to be available
       | 
       | 10. Non-work chats and checking on teammates
       | 
       | It's a whole new world.
       | 
       | -> How is it different from Zoom, or apps like Tandem, Around,
       | etc?
       | 
       | When we started, these recent apps weren't even released. I've
       | written in detail in https://usenoor.com/faq on how our approach
       | is radically different (and better, because we re-thought how
       | chats should work from the ground-up)
       | 
       | Oh, BTW we just launched on PH too
       | https://www.producthunt.com/posts/noor-2
       | 
       | Happy to answer any questions. From remote work Qs or about our
       | tech stack :D
        
         | sharkmerry wrote:
         | Feels like MS Teams has all the features in your FAQ of why to
         | use your product.
         | 
         | If Noor is for 1. impromptu voice or video chats, why is it
         | also for 3. doing 1:1s, which are presumably scheduled
        
           | morajabi wrote:
           | It's totally different. MS Teams is like Slack and Zoom. Our
           | early users have used both, but still use Noor every day for
           | hours. Same for us. This is an entirely new thing.
           | 
           | I highly recommend you checking it out for yourself with one
           | coworker you work with closely.
        
       | vyrotek wrote:
       | Would have loved to try it with our team today but we're all on
       | Windows. You'll need a Windows app for real workplace adoption.
        
         | morajabi wrote:
         | Sad. Please fill out our request for platform form so you get
         | notified: https://tally.so/r/mZ8Kyw
        
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       (page generated 2021-06-21 23:02 UTC)