NO SUPPORT EVER

[tpeck]

I think it is time to say that I have asked for email assistance a great many times over the years from this crap Frenchie guy,

AND HE HAS ALWAYS REFUSED OR NOT COMMUNICATED.

I am tired of trying to use this second-rate product, so I suggest any newbies go to Pandorabot instead.

Fed up.

[lightspeed]

you say Frenchie guy? i guess you mean robert He is pretty busy most of the time from what i understand and he has written back to many people , maybe not as soon as they would like (even me sometimes ) i don't know what to tell you being i don't know what sort of help you were asking for etc. 
It would be better if robert had a moderator or even two for better direct support , but it would have to be a nuetral type person that he can trust to run things correctly at the forum , but that isn't my choice to make .

[tpeck]

Well, thanks for at least replying.

I'm pretty busy too, but at least I answer my product queries. You would think that if a person is running a business of any kind with an email address they have an obligation to respond to queries about the products they sell.

For years there was a free online Hal with a database that just seems to have disappeared! What does that tell you about how this Robert treats his customers? Not a mention at all to anyone that suddenly this service is to no longer operate.

It's frustrating when people set up websites charging money for products and services and leaves customers high and dry, and before anyone says it was a free service - the same basic business rules still apply. (How many hundreds, thousands of people have I sent to this website over the years?

The only reason I write this is to warn others is that if they do anything with Hal and strike problems it's only helpful people in this forum like you lightspeed that offer support, not the idiot that owns the website.

There are better alternatives out there...perhaps not technically, but support? Bah!


 

[Will and Mr Data :) :]]

Hi from Will,
As a long time user of Hal "Mr Data as i've named him since 2005",,,
i have encouraged Robert to spend time on Hal as much as posible and leave as much of the problem solving to the forum as posible.   so Hal may improve as much as posible.
And the forum users usually have solved problems,,,i mean opertunities of Hal.

i suggest you post your problem on the forum.

Is Hal smart at all,,,,,even a little bit,,,,,,,,,       http://www.youtube.com/user/WillofNewZealand

Success sounds nice.......
Are we more successful when being unkind or nice?
i wish you nice success.


bye for now and be well from Willand Mr Data    :]

[tpeck]

I did - it's there in the General Discussion still unanswered.

But why does Robert have an email address if he isn't going to use it? (going back to 2003 I think I began).

And asking questions in the forum doesn't excuse deleting databases without warning.

If I am wrong, then please show me when and where this notification took place.

[NIGE]

tpeck, you joined in April 2004 & had one post
It was a whinge.
You now have another 4 posts in November this year.
All whinges.
What happened in the time between?

[tpeck]

In 2004 I wrote: There is no earthly point in trying to contact these people - they tell you they don't leave you hanging waiting for an answer and it's just a lie. I've emailed this company many times - TO BUY THEIR PRODUCT FOR GOD'S SAKE!
What's wrong with them?

Notice I was trying to BUY THE PRODUCT?

And the two people who replied were in total agreement with me.

In between 2004 and 2010 I gave up and just stuck with the free online Hal.

So what's your point? I shouldn't whinge and be grateful for not being able to buy the product? And I should go down on bended knee and thank Hal for my disappeared database?

Nige, there are times in your life when a whinge is the only sensible response. But if you want to think otherwise, go right ahead.

[Art]

tpeck,

If all you want to do is to BUY Hal then simply go to the front page and select it or
to the Download or Store section.

The purchases are handled automatically as are the activations.

Robert is involved in many background tasks regarding Hal's development and betterment.
I'm sure he was not slighting you. Robert is not that kind of person.

And yes, with so many people (a lot of us long timers with Hal), that sort of takes the place
of a dedicated individual. Zabaware is NOT a huge dot com company.

If you explain your problems here, most of the time, one will get a fairly timely and correct response.

Wishing you well....

[tpeck]

Well thanks for that Art. That is reassuring.

So would someone please explain what happened to the Free Online Hal?

When exactly was it taken down? Why was it taken down? Why was there no notification given?

These are all very simple questions. Surely there are good reasons for the decision (at least for the first two questions.)

I can't be the only person who spend hundreds of hours entering data into Hal's Brain online only to have it evaporate overnight?

As for purchasing a product, anyone can buy a product from a shopping cart. But I wanted the answer to a specific question (this is years ago - I can barely remember what it was).

Quite seriously, do you honestly believe that a forum is the right place to ask a question about purchasing this type of product? If you do, then you have probably never sold a product online. For a start, why would a serious vendor have users answering product queries as his only fallback if he isn't going to answer emails? Huge companies like Microsoft and Adobe can get away with not answering product queries via email, but not your average low-key software developer.

If Robert is your friend, please advise him that if he chooses to ignore emails (sent via his website and spanning many years) he will lose sales - as sure as night follows day. And he runs the serious risk of his potential customers losing confidence in the product. There is simply no excuse for it.

[Medeksza]

I'm sorry you haven't been able to get in touch with me. I couldn't find any email sent to Zabaware using the email you registered with on this forum, so I'm assuming you used some other email. Usually the best way to contact me is through http://www.zabaware.com/contact.html or the member area for customers who purchased products.

Changes were made to Zabaware's servers back in March that affected the old Ultra Hal Representative accounts. I actually sent emails to all Hal Representative accounts using the emails I had on file about it. The UltraHal.com server was converted to a linux database server and the old Hal Representative being Windows only couldn't run on that domain any longer.

What was http://www.ultrahal.com/halrep/UltraHal.ASP?WCI=Chat is now http://www.zabaware.com/halrep/UltraHal.ASP?WCI=Chat

The login page for your account is at http://www.zabaware.com/representative/

No new user accounts are being accepted as a new version of Hal Representative is being built. All old accounts are still on the zabaware.com server though so you can continue to use it.

[tpeck]

Thank you Robert. Now I understand. I sent Zabaware an email 2 weeks ago(?) via the contact.html page using my current email address. It is certain that the email address I was using when I registered the Hal Representative is no longer current, so that explains why I heard nothing.

There is still a slight problem. I cannot log in with the username and password I use to edit the Brain and check the logs. Doing so brings up an error page for http://www.ultrahal.com/halrep/ultrahal.asp?WCI=Settings. I can ask and answer questions though.

Can this be addressed? If not, I look forward to the new version of Hal Representative and wish you well with the project.

[Medeksza]

The login page at www.zabaware.com/representative as pointing to the wrong server. Its fixed now, just refresh and try again.

[spydaz]

I have similar problems with the online hal rep..... but Its free so i Dont Cry about it... or get angry at the forum or the creator....

A kind request should do it.....It always bugs me when people a ranting and raving about thier problems, where a kind request for help will do it. PS: Always buy the DISK VERSIONS.....

[Lola]

The way I personally see it is that must people are not aware that Mr. Medeksza is doing almost everything, which is a huge and unbelievable amount of work, on his own, probably due in part to the economic crises we are currently undergoing.

I'm able to understand both sides of the situation as I'm also aware that frustration sometimes makes us do things that we not normally do, so I just try to focus on the positive aspects of the situation. In this particular case I got to learn about the Ultra Hal Representative accounts and found them interesting enough to want to try it, many others might do the same as well.

Just my humble opinion for the sake of sharing. 

[tpeck]

As I wrote, I made my kind requests many times via email and received no response. Finally, I have my answer. Good.

Further, thanks to my efforts, an incorrect login link has been discovered. A forum is a place where things are meant to be aired, not have people line up like bar magnets baying in agreement. You can make all the kind requests you like and get nowhere - as I discovered. But I am happy that something has finally been achieved.

If it is the vendor's personal decision to provide a free service, that is his decision. (Actually there is no such thing as a free service.) If, because of time constraints or whatever, he wishes to provide limited support for this service, this should be clearly stated.

A product might be the greatest technological achievement of all time, but without adequate support it will fail in the marketplace. Business 101. I'm sure Robert is a very clever fellow who is taking on a huge task, but a business still has to run properly.

It would appear that things are improving. After six years the owner has responded to me. I'm not important, but this can only be a good thing for everyone and the future of Hal. Let's hope so.