’I’m Not a Cat,’ Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties | Hacker News Reader

’I’m Not a Cat,’ Says Lawyer Having Zoom Difficulties

nytimes.com

75 pointsundefined115 comments

It's times like these where I realize how important it is for me to take myself out of my little tech bubble and have some empathy for all the people using the stuff supported by the crappy code I write.

What's funny is that I cannot find this full face filter option in my Zoom at all. Either these guys were using some other software or I'm bad at navigating UIs.

I’ve heard it’s a Snapchat filter (apparently there’s a way to use those with Zoom).

Probably a child used the computer beforehand

More likely the secretary

You're probably right.

> In the interview, Mr. Ponton, who was representing the State of Texas in the case, said that he was using his secretary’s computer and that she was “mortified” by the mistake.

Indeed, that came from reading the article :-)

I believe that the filter is coming from a Windows/macOS app made by Snap

I definitely think The Guardian’s headline is easily better:

“Texas lawyer, trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/09/texas-lawyer...

This is made really bizarre by the text that also accompanies the video:

"Recording of this hearing or live stream is prohibited. Violation may constitute contempt of court and result in a fine of up to $500 and a jail term of up to 180 days."

Edit: Apparently it was on the court's YouTube page.

The judge, who’s on Twitter, made the video available[1] for “educational purposes”.

[1] https://twitter.com/judgefergusontx/status/13592509393125662...

"I am not a cat, I am not your cat, and this is not feline advice."

It should be said that this lawyer is a total piece of trash:

https://reason.com/2021/02/10/zoom-cat-lawyer-rod-ponton-use...

Well, he is a prosecutor. That position does tend to attract that sort of person.

Someone tracked this down to a piece of software called Live! Cam Avatar: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56010156

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