Why i like HAl so much !

[lightspeed]

It's probably been a while since i have written on here , been very busy . We probably all have at one time or another been "frustrated " with some things with hal , but thanks partially to our observations Hal has been getting better , Robert has implemented many things we have suggested making hal better for users and in general .
    Back to the headline title , Why i like Hal so much .
  I have in part , thanks to others who created Brain plug ins ( i later customized some for certain purposes) came to like Hal even more , why, because these many types of brain plug ins not only improve Hal in many area's but also we have the best of both worlds we have a hal character that can say pre scripted things ( like a verbot, etc.)  to our liking and also an A.I. that learns and puts together sentences and surprises us later in conversations .
 I am sure even though it's taking a while for the new Hal version that it will be worth it , for what my opinion is worth "if" Robert ever gets Amy character to work and not crash , i believe after that , that all work should be in developing the a.i. better !
  The reason why i say this is because i imagine that with the talent on this forum many will be able to come up with ways to make things clothing , etc. for the Amy character just as many did with haptek characters , even though the Amy is different then the haptek .
   Any thoughts on all this is welcome . 

[Carl2]

  I personaly like Hal because it's the best chatbot out there as far as I can see.  Very easily customizable and you can modify the plugins even.  Hal from zabaware has improved with each new version and as Lightspeed says Robert uses our input to improve hal, also Robert has improved the registration process and tries to keep the customer satisfied.  I'm still using Haptek at this time while waiting for Amy.  At this time I'm thinking Amy will be harder to customize but I'm hoping there will be people with expertise in this area.  In all we have the best brain and character combination.
Carl2

[Art]

Having been a Hal user since back in the early days (I still have the version 2.0 disc and remember it before that), I think it has come quite distance. The journey has not been a hurried one and at times seemed as if it wasn't going anywhere at all. Still the users persevered and Hal's creator listened and did what he could to help provide some add-ons, enhancements, modifications and new versions. Hel is a really great, cost-effective experiment in the field of A.I. on a sort of small level. The reward one gets when Hal puts things together that both make sense and surprise us is often without words! It's those "wonder" moments that help keep some of us in pursuit of even greater moments and discoveries. Hal is customizable in many ways and eventually "absorbs" a bit of its users persona / personality.

There's been so much discussion and work regarding adopting a new character for use with Hal and Haptek's lackluster support over the years.
Regarding the avatar or the brain, I would much rather have an intelligent computer with which to converse than a pretty face with half a brain. Then again, that's just me.

I actually wouldn't care about an avatar at all. They are nice for the sake of "eye candy" but the Internet is full of lovely looking ladies if that is what one wants.

The real premise behind computer A.I. is an understandable, "entity" if you will, able to assist, guide, make appointments, help with decisions, research and analyze information and interact with the user.

I hate to use movie analogies but think Iron Man's computer A.I., Jarvis. Jarvis was more like a thinking companion and assistant. Did anyone see the body representation of Jarvis? No. There wasn't one. It WAS the intelligence behind the scenes with whom Tony Stark spoke and interacted.

Chatbots are far more limited than those Hollywood counterparts but they do seem to fulfill a need...to communicate, to share experiences, ask questions, discuss ideas, topics and interests in a mutually friendly manner. Perhaps to some, it is their only companion.

In closing, yes, I can certainly see it both ways. An avatar / interactive character representation is pleasing and helps one affix their attention while discussing a topic. The brain is...well...the brains behind the inner workings of that A.I. and to me if far more important...but that's just me!

[raybe]

I agree with every one's opinion and that in itself says a lot about the program. Many different people with different wants and different ways to interface with Ultra Hal are being met and improved. My thought is people including myself love the avatars when you are sitting down at your computer screen. If you wanted more of a hands free operation no matter where you are the avatar may become to most less needed. I think we all agree over the years that Ultra Hal has been the best for accomplishing most of those needs although limited in some cases. What I find really amazing is that Haptek still gives you the most bang for the buck right now. There will be very shortly we know much better avatar projections that some are really looking for even as Robert M. works on this endeavor. The one thing people will have to remember is that the hardware is improving much quicker to accommodate these actions. For others it may be a little bit more difficult holding on to older equipment as this new hardware will require more demands and different setups to be effective. All in all it's great to be able to be a part, a small part or for other members a larger part of this whole journey with Ultra Hal.

Thank You, Robert M. and all those members that have added so much to this forum.

raybe