If you telecommute, you've probably spent most of the past year dealing with the incessant barrage of video calls. While there are advantages over face-to-face meetings, there are also things that can go wrong.

Thankfully, Google Meet has gotten a very useful upgrade in the form of the "Green Room". This means that you can easily check that everything is working properly and that you look presentable before you actually join a video conference.

This concept is not particularly new; Google Meet has had buffer zones like this for some time, allowing you to prepare for a meeting before anyone sees you. It can be used to make sure the camera is pointed at the right place, to blur the background, to see who else is on the call, etc.

An important change here is the addition of a button called "Check Audio and Video." This allows you to record a 6-second video clip to show everyone else in the meeting how you look and sound. It also checks your microphone, speakers, camera, and Internet connection to make sure everything is working.

This means you can tackle the problem at hand without worrying that no one can see or hear you properly. It also allows you to see which hardware works best. It's nice to wear a headset, but what if the microphone on your laptop is clearer? These are all things that can be figured out before going into a meeting. [Just click on the Google Meet link. Click the "Review Audio and Video" button at the bottom of the screen to see the entire process.