Things are slow, but I'm definitely still here working on new things. Right now I'm working on getting Hal's brain working on a system of linux+windows cloud servers that will automatically scale up or down depending on demand. This will allow me to launch Hal as a service for web sites, app development, commercial use, and as an option for Ultra Hal Assistant.
Hal's brain is also continuously monitoring conversations between people on twitter and learning from them. Hal throws away over 90% of information it reads there, keeping on what it considers to be best. Over the past few months Hal has gathered over 400,000 conversations there to improve his depth and breadth of knowledge and ability to stay on topic. The database is being designed to handle millions of entries without problems.
I'm also preparing Hal for the Loebner competition that is coming up on October 23rd in Los Angeles.
The character engine development is still stalled due to funding problems. I've spent over $50,000 on its development so far and it is about 90% complete, just needing artwork and bug testing at this point. Zabaware's sales have slowed down these past couple years that I just don't have it in the budget to finish it right now. But with the release of the upcoming Hal cloud service I hope sales increase and I can finally finish this.
The web page design of zabaware.com is also currently under redevelopment and will be launched along with the new Hal cloud service. I'm hoping this will be by the end of the year but I have no set date yet.
So things are definitely progressing, but a lot slower than I would hope. I'm working on projects I can do myself rather than on projects where I need to hire out additional help.
