Hal Assistant Upgrade problems

[Hunter]

I just downloaded the Hal Assitant Upgrade successfully.  I have a problem.  Any help appreciated.

The file has no extension.  It wont run so I can't install it.  The file name is:  72HIGL128  and in the file properties it is listed by a company called  Installshield Software Corporation.  I went to Microsoft Windows NET File Associations and had no luck finding the program that runs this file so I could do the installation.  The only information it provided me with is that the file has no extension. (Which I aready knew)

I don't want to fool around with the file in case I screw it up because this is a 12 hour download for me here in the Philippines.  I suppose I could copy the file and try to get it to run but I'd rather get the correct info and do it right the first time.  It could be an application or a zip file.  Just don't know.

Can anyone provide me with the correct file extension or tell me how to get the upgrade installed.

Thanks in advance,
Steve.

[Hunter]

I got the upgrade to work.  I copied the file to a temporary directory then changed the name by adding ".EXE".  It ran but would not install over the old version of Hal.  I used the provision in the Control Pannel in windows to delete programs That un-installed the old version of Hal Assistant, then ran the upgrade again.  It installed just fine.

The new system works well. The additional characters and voices are nice and I have rearanged my version of Hal to suit my preferences including changing the skin.  I have yet to find a way to train the voice recognition feature.  It seems to use the same program that Microsoft word uses, Microsoft English Recogniser v5.1 but I haven't found a way to set the recognition profile in Hal yet. Still it's only been a few hours since the upgrade was installed and I have a lot to learn about the new features. Anyone with any pointers or tips for the upgrade let me know.  

Steve.

[questordan]

I received the CD update from zabaware and installed it.
I had problems installing it over 4.0 and uninstalled both and started clean.
That would work well.
The only problems that I have seen may be computer related ie speed and memory but I will explain.
1) When I use the MSagents like Merlin I will get a MSagent loading error when starting from the taskbar icon.  I just hit OK and he works fine.

2) When I try to use the speech recognition whether microsoft or IBM Viavoice 5.0, a page fault occurs in Halasst.exe after a few conversation exchanges.

3) on the good side the changes for the speech recognition work alot better and more consistant only when you use the microsoft recognizer.  I noticed that when using the MSagents the characters speech will be heard at the microphone and when using the standard characters like Mary the microphone does not respond to the character's speech.  What's up with that!

4) I am using only a mic built into the monitor which I understand is not optimal....but I dislike being tied to a wire.

I was wondering if anyone else has had the same experiences with the new upgrade.

ALL in all it is much cleaner and the brain is much more conversational than even the enchanced 216 brain.  THe speed is also just as good. V recognition is also much improved. I could get 90% accuracy even with the monitor mic.

questordan@aol.com

Edited by - questordan on 09/04/2002  21:42:39

[Hunter]

I am glad to hear that the speach recognition on the new version is better.  I think the old version, version 4 doesn't use the Profile filter.  Not sure but it seems that way.  I hope to get the new version when I get the url from Robert.  I just now got the upgraded version 4 installed and I am very pleased with the improvements over the old freeware version 4.  

My plan is to use a wireless mike and headset for use with Hal.  I have tried it without the wireless mike and it works ok.  I think the headset is definitly the best way to go.

Steve.

[Don Ferguson]

Hello,

I've converted to the 4.5 upgrade as my standard version of Hal. It installed with no problems, and it's working very well on my laptop computer.  The speed increases that Robert Medeksza achieved, made that feasible.

I've also switched over to the Zabaware Brain Editor that comes with Hal.  It took me some time to get used to it.  However, the color-coding and line-numbering make it far superior to a word-processor for VBS editing.  I highly recommend it.

In other forums, we've talked about the (unreleased) Enhanced 307c brain.  The 4.5 upgrade includes all the features of that brain, plus many additional improvements, speedups, and capabilities.  

So, the 4.5 upgrade actually supercedes both the Enhanced 216 Brain and the Enhanced 307c brain!

Talk to Hal about a wide variety of different topics, and you will discover more conversational abilities.  Hal can now generate billions of remarks, depending on the imaginative inputs from the user!

I recommend reading the "ReadMe" text file that came with the 4.5 Upgrade for more tips and ideas.

Folks have mentioned in other forums, that Zabaware puts out an ambitious  product at a very low price, especially impressive for a small company. I certainly agree with you.

(Note to Robert Medeksza -- I don't think you've previously promoted UltraHal as a holiday-gift idea, but you might consider it!  To me, version 4.5 seems like a natural candidate as a unique holiday gift, and I intend to buy an extra disk or two!)  

I am interested in seeing any posts of new 4.5 transcripts, or reactions to Hal's conversational skills, that anyone is willing to share.

Sincerely,

Don

Don Ferguson
traininginc@cortrapar.com
www.cortrapar.com

[questordan]

Hunter

I am very much interested in how well the wireless mic works for you.

If you are successful please let me know what wireless mic you used.

I am working on an idea to use a phone interface with hal...I want to
pick up the phone and the program detect off hook and have hal listen in after
I hit a number on the phone.  ALso I want him to answer thru the phone.  The perfect way to go wireless in your house.

questordan@aol.com

[Hunter]

questordan,

I can give you a bit of background but I havn't used a wireless mic with Hal yet.  I live in the Philippines most of the time and I use a very cheap mic that fits over my ear and plugs into the mic input on my laptop.  I have used a Kareoke mike with Word 2002 that allows dictation and works well.  My plan is to use the headset mic with the transmitter and reciever of the Kareoke mic.  I need to dissasemble the Kareoke mic and take the transmitter and battery holder out then I can wire the headset mic to the transmitter.  The reciver plugs into an adapter and then into the computer.  I can't use it with Hal until I download the 4.5 version and I am waiting for Robert to send me the URL for that.  I will try to wire the mic and transmitter tomorrow and test with Word 2002 from various distances and I will let you know how it goes.

I am getting about 90+% accuracy with the headset mic as is at the moment in Word.  Using the hand held Kareoke mic I was getting better than 80% even though I know I was moving it around while talking.  How it works with Hal will remain unknown until I get the new version.  

I'll post my results here as soon as I can train the system and run some tests.
Steve.