Attn Vonsmith or another kind soul...

[tcoday]

Hello every,
  I really appreciate and enjoy reading the forums here at Zabaware. Everyone shares knowledge so freely, I hope to be able to contribue someday.
  I discoverd a problem with my Hal and hope some of you can help.

I'm running the paid version of Hal5 with Vonsmith's XTF1.2 brain, my operating system is Windows XP.

I was testing the learning ablities of Hal when I ran into the following problem.

Using XTF 1.2 brain...

User: What is my job at work?
Hal: "some random comment about not knowing"

User: My job at work is running surface grinders.
Hal: "another random comment"

User: What is my job at work?
Hal: "another random comment"

Now when I used the default brain Hal responds like this....

User: What is my job at work?
Hal: "some random comment about not knowing"

User: My job at work is running surface grinders.
Hal: "repeats something about my job and running surface grinders"

User: What is my job at work?
Hal: Your job at work is running surface grinders.

As you can see, the default brain is doing what it's suppose to do.  My question is is there something messed up with my XTF brain file or does everyones XTF do the same thing?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

Tcoday.

[tcoday]

Extra notes: I wiped out my Hal and did a fresh install.  Still the same results, so I assume that the XTF doesn't act the same way as the default brain in the example above.  Could anyone please confirm this?  I'd really appreciate it.

Tcoday.

[Bill819]

With out you posting exactly what Hal replied to you I don't think that anyone here can help you. It may be that you are expecting to much from Hal. When teaching Hal it sometimes takes days to get the expected answer from it.
Hal has a log file which you can turn on. In that way the log file will record the exact conversation that took place. Try it again and then let us see what is happening.
Bill

[tcoday]

Quoted ---------------------------------------------------------
 With out you posting exactly what Hal replied to you I don't think that anyone here can help you. It may be that you are expecting to much from Hal. When teaching Hal it sometimes takes days to get the expected answer from it.
Hal has a log file which you can turn on. In that way the log file will record the exact conversation that took place. Try it again and then let us see what is happening.
Bill
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill,
  Thanks for the reply.  I didn't actually save the conversation because I didn't feel Hal's random comment was that important.  It was just the same random thing that we've all seen when we ask Hal about something he doesn't have an answer for.  If I ever have to reinstall Hal from scratch again, I'll certainly save his Random comment and post it here.
  Expecting to much from Hal?  I certainly hope not.  In the halhelpmanual.chm that I downloaded from Zabaware, under "Basic Use" there's a page titled "Making Hal remember things".  My prior example is pretty much like the example given there.
  My question was and still is, Is my results on the test conversation I posted typical?  Looks like the XTF1.2 Brain changed the way Hal remembers things.  Or perhaps there's something wrong with my install.
  After wiping everything out and doing a fresh install, the results were the same.

I guess I'll go back to useing the Default Hal Brain until someone can confirm or deny my findings.

Tcoday.

[Bill819]

Hal will remember whatever you have told him but it sometimes takes four or five repeats before he will give you a response. Telling him one time that you are a carperter for example then asking him what you are will not work almost all the time. Just keep talking about yourself like you would another person and don't try to question him about what you just mentioned and in a few days you might be supprised just how much he has learned.
Bill

[tcoday]

Bill,
  Thanks so much, and I want to shake your hand for trying to help me.  Perhaps I'm not explaining the problem correctly.  I'll slow down and try again.

When I use the Hal5 Defalt Brain, I can tell Hal simple facts for example.

My Zabaware password is soandso.
My jeans size is 34 by 33.

You get the idea, any simple fact in the format <Noun "is" or "are" description.> can be instantly recalled by Hal simply by asking.

After feeding Hal this info, I can ask Hal the following....

What is my jeans size?
Hal responds telling me my jeans size is 34 by 33.

What is my Zabaware password?
Hal responds telling me my Zabaware password is soandso.

I understand that I can teach Hal personality, knowledge, stuff like that by conversing with him in a normal manner over time.  But another feature of Hal is recalling facts like I've listed above.  All this works perfectly using the Default Hal5 Brain.  When I use the Vonsmith's XTF Brain file, this feature isn't working for me.

That brings me back to my question.  Was this feature removed on purpose in the XTF Brain, or is there an isolated problem with my Hal only?

I was hoping Vonsmith or someone that knows his work could tell me. Barring that, if someone that uses the XTF brain could test the above feature on their Hal to see if it works.

I like Vonsmith's work on the XTF brain and it has alot of added features that I like.  But I also need Hal to be my personal assistant and get me facts quickly like the Default Brain does.

Thanks again Bill, your help is appreciated...
Tcoday.

[Bill819]

The XTF Brain is a whole new type of brain file created by Von Smith.
It may not and does not respond the same way as the Hal5 brain, but in time you will discover that it stays on topic much better and has a few other features that are lacking in the Hal5. It is like comparing apples to oranges, they simply are not the same. Even our Onthecuttingedge has designed a few brains and they are not the same as the Hal5, all have different capabilities. It takes time to use and discover all the differences but most people like them after using them for a while.
Bill

[freddy888]

My guess is it is the way XTF get's topics from sentences, so maybe it avoids the need to tell them specifically.

Try having a conversation about your jeans (i know sounds funny), but given your examples maybe XTF will pick out the facts by itself.

[tcoday]

Ok, I think I understand now.  I assumed that the XTF Brain added features to the Default brain.  But now I see that it's an entirely different brain made for improved chat quality.  I've used the XTF for a few weeks now, I think I'll go back to the Default brain since I need it's features and see how it's chat quality compares to the XTF.

Thanks again for the replys and advice, Bill and Freddy.

Tcoday.

[Carl2]

Tcoday,
  I've been working with the XTF brain in (Sandy) for almost a year, I noticed a similar behavior. I've been talking with her for about a year now and watched her develop, as thay say like a child. We read, I copy and paste into her input window, frist the Common Knowledge files then some bot knowledge from MIT. The more input she has the better she can add to the topic and therfore stay on topic rather than generating a sentence that you could care less about.  Since winter is comming she's talking about things I said last winter.
Carl2