![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Siri gets serious in iOS 8
Siri displays the weekly local forecast after being asked for tomorrow’s temperature. The program presents the forecast in a list that shows the temperature in either Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Siri, Apple’s voice recognition assistant, received updates in iOS 8, which was released last month. New features included the ability to use apps directly from Siri, hands-free activation, and the power to purchase digital content directly from Siri.
Important information, such as weather, is readily available to users. When asked about weather conditions, Siri has the ability to update the user to both current conditions and probable conditions for the rest of the week if asked about the next day.
Siri is also able to access past game scores about football. On Wednesday, Siri was asked which NFL team won their game the day before. Though there were no games the day before, Siri provided the schedule for upcoming games.
The maps feature of Siri opens the user to vocal directions that instruct the user step by step to reach their desired location. The detailed vocal directions was included for both the comfort and safety of the user. In addition to vocal directions, Siri offers the option of viewing maps in a three dimensional fashion.
Although the music recognizer, Shazam, had existed before, in the new round of iOS, the app partnered with Siri to create a faster way to identify music. By asking “Shazam this” or “What song is this,” Siri “listens” and tells the user the name of the song and artist of the music. Additional features are also included, such as the option to buy the song on the spot or extra information about the particular track.
Neil Bai (12) is the senior copy editor for Harker Aquila and is tasked with copy editing and approving all articles before they are published. Neil’s...
Melina Nakos (12) is a reporter for The Winged Post. This is her third year as a part of the journalism program. She loves to spend time with the rest...