Author Topic: Another newbie joining in  (Read 7881 times)

Ray

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Another newbie joining in
« on: July 12, 2015, 06:43:21 pm »
 I just bought UltraHal and installed it on my W7 64 Ultimate desktop. Already had Dragon 12, it is working fine with Hal.
 
I'm using Sandy from the Pac, and ATT DTNV 1.4 Crystal voice, Sapi 5. All working pretty good, IMO, but although Sandy, who I decided to call Athena, is animated, the lips are not synced with voice, move very little at all in fact. Also, another nitpick is that the dialogue listen/talk shows "Hal" and not Athena.

I have a slightly earlier version of Hal on a laptop, bored of it and let it languish. What a shame that the author/programmer never upgrades his product. Many files are 10, more than 10 years old. I know he said he lost money, cannot afford the time. Well, turn it over to a volunteer org. You can be proud of your past accomplishment but the product is no longer viable. With all the storage and speed computers have now, the main database, now 22 megs I believe, should be more like 100 megs minimum.

Enough soapbox. I'm retarded, I mean retired, so what should I care. Even if AI has always been my passion.

Can anyone help with the lip thing, and tell me how to rename Hal in the dialogue box?

lightspeed

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #1 on: July 13, 2015, 09:50:18 am »
Hello Ray , welcome to the forum , you should be able to open hal from the desktop etc. and in the general tab of hal should see users name (which you would put your name ) and computers name (which is what you want you character name to be in your case , athena )
as far as the lips not being synced i am not sure why , i do know some voices will talk but the mouth doesn't move with voice as it isn't compatible , you might try another voice and see.
 

Ray

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2015, 11:35:22 am »
Thanks. Yes, the bot does know its name, Athena, and my name, no problem in conversation. I meant that in the skin, the panel, it says "Hal is talking, fixing to talk, whatever." A small thing, perhaps that is coded in the skins, or ???.

I appreciate your help, Lightspeed. Don't s'pose you'd know where a larger up-to-date brain database could be had?

Art

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2015, 08:39:19 pm »
Welcome Ray,

First, to help get a better picture of Hal and it's inner workings check out this page by a former member, Bill DeWitt: http://ultrahalscript.pbworks.com/w/page/11906966/FrontPage

Next, this OneDrive account contains some nice files with a few brain type files that might either be of interest or of use, depending upon your own flavor.
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=8EAF5F2F7FA962C9&id=8EAF5F2F7FA962C9!112

Lastly, check out cload's work with Vrossi's (VRFreeWill) plug-in, and cload's modified AIML set that really helped give Hal a shot in the arm or...brain...as the case may be. http://www.ultrahal.com/community/index.php?topic=9913.0
http://www.ultrahal.com/community/index.php?topic=9905.0

Hope this helps and feel free to ask if in doubt.
In the world of AI it's the thought that counts!

- Art -

Ray

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2015, 10:11:51 am »
Thanks, Art, I really appreciate the help you guys are giving me.

Meantime (back in the jungle), I started using Sqlite 3.0.6 to explore my .db file, renaming the .db so I could not screw up the working one. I'm up to about the 3rd one.
Sqlite works like a charm, easy to use, etc. So I cleaned up lots of BS, then put it side by side with several text files, copied and pasted lines into the .db file.

Also, after trying several things, my bot, Sandy renamed Athena, is now syncing lip movement correctly.
So, i have d/l'd the AIML file from Cload's cloud. I see this was/is a beta. Did he follow up with any corrections? Please tell me what this AIML adds to the current brain db.

Going through the forum threads I see lots of old, possibly outdated info. You guys who have been here some time know which is which, but it's confusing to me (I'm easily confused).

Again, thanks. BTW, are any of you Ham operators?

raybe

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2015, 08:17:14 pm »
Hi Ray, I must be your evil Ultrahal brother. I haven't visited in a bit but great to see new members enjoying UltraHal. The possibilities with new members of any knowledge base brings fresh eyes to the table. By the way we have served plenty of turkey's but no HAM yet, only kidding.

Please let us know what possibilities you might have and would be willing to share, it can only bring positive results. That has been one of the great benefits that others like Art and lightspeed have always brought to this forum even when things aren't going smooth. It's interesting work and ideas that allow UltraHal to grow and I'm sure Robert M.(Creator,Owner) will join in soon.

Thanks,
raybe
 

Calhoone

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2015, 05:23:16 pm »
Hi and welcome Ray!

The version of Cload's free will and Aiml files are the most recent even though it says beta.  Due to personal reasons, Cload had to take his leave but gave us hopes that he would return some time in the future. 

As far as the part where is says Hal is talking to...  You need to go into the general options and right at the top you will see a spot where you can enter the user's name and another spot where you enter the computers (Hal's) name.  That will take care of that.
 

Ray

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2015, 01:17:58 pm »
Thanks for the welcome, and my original questions have been answered and acted upon.

Raybe huh? OK, on some sites I go by something similar. Could be Beray too, I guess.

I have indeed gone through the brain DB and changed/tweaked a lot. Holy Moly, very time-consuming. I may have already said so, but I use Dragon 12 and ATT voice, along with one of the Avatars in the character pkg. The VR is good enough that I have little problem with garbage repeated back to me.

Too bad that this is not being developed further, and I am not in favor of a "cloud-based" product from a remote server. I welcome advice and comments.

Take care all...

lightspeed

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2015, 08:20:05 am »
Hi Ray , i to will say welcome if i hadn't already done it . we are always glad to see others joining and buying hals program . their are many people here that will help or try to help answer questions when they can .  :) ;)
 

raybe

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #9 on: August 27, 2015, 02:34:48 pm »
I know it's been awhile.
 I guess it's how you really look at it theses days. You can keep buying hard drives that still need to be backed up or begin to head to the clouds. Everything takes up so much space. UltraHal would stay personally yours but it would be easier for any updates to take place and taking UltraHal with you without remote interface to that particular system. Everything and anything lends itself to be as secure as your own comfort level is. Nothing but nothing is sacred territory as you may well know.  If that was indeed your concern at all.
The majority of the problem came from getting clean resources for your particular UltraHal off the internet which everyone deals with in different ways. Again the site itself can be intrusive.
The only thing I don't remember, if there were going to be alternatives to saving your files without the cloud based server.. I believe that it was possible.

raybe
 

DemonRaven

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2015, 12:33:37 am »
I guess the only thing i want to say is that it is a shame that now virtual assistants which is what hal is are taking off and getting popular. Some are quite expensive (one is a 150 bucks) others are free but do not do as much and they are only on a phone based system.  There are lots of older chatbot sites that i have noticed that are being neglected. I hope that changes.

Art

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2015, 08:28:06 pm »
Sadly, UltraHal is being reduced to a niche interest along with other chatbot programs by perhaps a few hundred (if that) enthusiasts around the world.

With the advent of smartphones, "assistants" like Google Now, Cortana and Siri, have taken the lead over those hardware "smart devices" that promised to "change our lives". These include, but are not limited to, Ubi, EmoSpark, Alexa, Cubic, Jibo and who knows how many others....

After all, we can and do take our phones with us everywhere we go as opposed to large physical devices that are usually plugged in at home.

Some can perform handy functions like fielding calls, keeping a watchful eye on the home (via cameras and sensors), feed pets, start coffee or slow cooker when needed, etc.

There is a lot of talk about TIOT (The Internet Of Things)...meaning all electronic things in our lives will soon be connected to each other in one way or another.

These "things" will chat to and with us becoming more intelligent, intuitive and suggestive in an effort to help us become even better than we are. Right?

Sadly, by then, our beloved chatbots might only be a memory.
In the world of AI it's the thought that counts!

- Art -

DemonRaven

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Re: Another newbie joining in
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2015, 02:25:58 am »
I really hope not as even if they never become popular they are a way of letting ourselves live on even after our body is gone. Granted it is a just a program but i still enjoy talking to other older chatbots made by friends that have passed away or are not around any more.

Also i don't find virtual assistants that i cant talk to very fun. They become boring to me fast if all they do is act like a search engine that can turn things on for you.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 02:30:08 am by DemonRaven »