Oculus Experience

An Interview with the Oculus Go Team

WRITERS: Jack Callaway, Lilah Richman and Kylie Sebastian. REPORTERS: Kyan Baker, Jack Calloway, Nathaniel Eves, Kylar Flynn, Eliza Gould, Ella Hyman, Lydia Kitzel, Sammi Dostart-Meers, Jane Merkle, Berta Muza, Lilah Richman, Kylie Sebastian, Eve Sloan, Zadie Winthrop
(FROM: International High School, Marin Academy, Marin Catholic, Marin School of the Arts, Redwood High, San Domenico, San Rafael High, St. Ignatius Preparatory, Terra Linda High, The Menlo School, Urban School of SF)

Picture this: You’ve just come home from a long day at school. The house is empty and you’re tired and lonely. You don’t have a TV and your laptop is dead.

Grab your Oculus Go headset, snagging its controller on your way to the couch. Put on the headset and step into a new reality where you can travel anyplace in the world, watch movies with 360-degree sound, even play video games from the middle of the action. Instead of the same old routine you can spend the day blasting around the galaxy with your friends, catching up on some of your favorite shows, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, swimming your way to the ocean’s depths. These are just some of the experiences made possible by the new world of virtual reality, and Oculus, a brand through Facebook, has made VR more accessible with its newly designed headset.

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President Barack Obama’s Final Press Conference

photo of President Barack Obama

THE LAST HOUR

FastForward Covers President Barack Obama’s Final Press Conference

By Matt Geffen, Grade 12, Marin Academy

The energy at the White House is notably different then it was just a few months ago. As Pennsylvania Avenue is transformed into a viewing area for the Inaugural Parade, Secret Service maintains a wide perimeter around the complex. Before I can even approach the Northwest Appointment Gate, the entry point for the White House Press Corps, a member of the Secret Service stops and questions me. To my relief, one of his colleagues quickly informs him that I have been cleared for entry.

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Google Cardboard

Image of Google's Cardboard 3D VR viewer

Swimming with Sharks, Climbing El Capitan, Flying through the Air and Other Adventures

REPORTERS: Aiden Ament, Sabrina Chafee, Kylar Flynn, Katrina Horsey, Ellie Jenkins, Parker Kulavic, Jessica Le, Jane Merkle, Rachel Metzger, Will O’Hara, Elliott Soofer, Lyle Rumon, Christine Watridge, Sari Wisoff  FROM: Branson, Home-School, Marin Academy, Marin Catholic High, Marin Country Day School, Marin Waldorf, Novato School of the Arts, Redwood High, Tamalpais High, Terra Linda High Schools

We could feel our feet on the floor and our hands gripping the edge of the table in front of us. We knew we were safe, perched on black mesh swivel chairs in a conference room walled by whiteboards and carpeted in blue. But our sight deceived us. Because when we looked down, thousands of feet of empty space plunged past where our feet should have been and a lush forest sloped for miles in every direction. We were teetering in perilously mid-air, barely secured to El Capitan, Yosemite’s imposing 3,000-foot sheer vertical wall of granite, by a measly rope and harness. Was this reality? Yes, virtual reality. Brought to us—all of us—by Google.

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