![“[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)
Microsoft Band: The newest in wearable tech
Courtesy of Microsoft
The Microsoft Band showing three separate apps : a heart monitor, an email client, and fitness. The Microsoft Band is controlled with an action button, touch screen, and microphone.
Microsoft announced the creation of its new wearable tech device known as Microsoft Band through tweets and Microsoft Health apps released on Windows, Android and Apple phones yesterday.
The device is mainly devoted to health and fitness. Microsoft joined forces with the companies Starbucks, Runkeeper, MyFitnessPal, Gold’s Gym and MapMyFitness to promote exercise among the buyers. For example, it can keep track of your heart rate, calories burned or the amount of sleep you get in one night.
Microsoft Band is the first device powered by Microsoft Health, which helps achieve goals for such activities as above. It acts like a personal trainer by slowly learning about you and guides you to improve your wellness. You can map the routes you usually run or follow the guided workouts that are built for your character.
Akhil Arun (9) felt that Microsoft Band was very much like the products produced by FitBit, which are wristbands dedicated to managing heart rate and calories burned.
“I think that the whole microsoft fit [band] is going to model the success of FitBit, because FitBit was popular as it was, but it came from a ‘random’ company, whereas this one is coming from Microsoft.” Akhil said. “I feel it’s going to get the fitness fans, and the people who are devoted to Microsoft products too.”
Microsoft Band lets you to read emails, text messages and alerts that go to your phone, as long as the companion app is installed. It comes equipped with a timer and a voice for your trainer named Cortana. With Windows 8.1 on the Windows phone, Cortana can save orally spoken notes from the user and schedule reminders at various times.
The question of Microsoft’s success in the market arises given that Apple and Samsung have already reached their version of a watch, and have Bluetooth connections that can access smartphones. Because the technology is relatively new, it may not get the attention it wants.
“They’re not going to do so well in the market, because its too saturated now,” Nikhil Manglik (10) said. “If they had come out with this beforehand, it would have been a really good deal, but now that Apple and Samsung have come out with their versions, no one is going to buy it as heavily as they would have before.”
The technology becomes accessible to the point where one does not need to go to the gym to maintain a proper heart rate, for example. Currently, Microsoft Band is available for $199. Microsoft will continue to develop cutting edge technology such as Microsoft Band in the future.
Vijay Bharadwaj (11) is one of the opinion editors for The Winged Post and Aquila. She served as the assistant opinion editor and the Wingspan copy editor...