It all began with Unity's 2017 VR/AR conference in Hollywood.

https://unity3d.com/company/public-relations/news/vision-vrar-summit-2017-premiere-arvr-event-be-held-may-1-2-loews




I couldn't make it, but was able to stream the whole thing with my advanced technology (i.e., a computer with internet access). The keynote is available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODXMhaNIF5E

Working with the Hololens emulator
So, freshly fired up from the wonderful doings at the Loews, I downloaded the Microsoft Hololens emulator and started developing. Visual Studio solutions generated a simulated Hololens interface, and it all worked pretty well. There was a lot of click this, check that box, and select this from the drop-down involved, but no major problems were encountered.

Adding to the delightful bewonderment of it all was that I was running the Hololens emulation through Windows 8 on a Boot Camp partition on a fancy-pants iMac.

Unity Technologies San Fran Headquarters

When the summer rolled around I had the opportunity to go to the Unity Technologies San Francisco office to attend the inaugural Train the Trainers event. A stellar cast of Unity Experts guided a class through the Unity approach to training people on how to use Unity. Guided by the steady Dave Della Rocca, the team gave a hands-on approach to 2d games, 3d games, and ultimately AR/VR game development.

Plus they gave me a cool Unity liquid holder that supports both hot and cold beverages.

NYC:  The first headset and controllers

When I returned to NYC, I found myself at one of those MeetUP groups. It was an AR/VR/MR bunch and the presenter extolled the virtues of various headsets for beginners. He indicated the forthcoming MR devices would be the best option for those getting into development, and the devices were not that expensive or far away timewise.

Sho nuff, Dell came out with their Mixed Reality headset and controllers soon thereafter, and I was off to my local Best Buy to git me some.
 
Dell Visor Follies

Minimal instructions, basically plug it in... But NOTHING happened. What do I do now?

Never give up. Understanding that teams of geniuses spent years of development to make things easy for users like me, I double-checked my connections. I unplugged the device then plugged it in again being sure to use the one USB 3.1 port on my Alienware R-Something.  Viola!  Up popped the Mixed Reality Portal! My MR adventure was under way!


http://www.vrfocus.com