Messages

3316

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Heathers site info

« on: November 05, 2005, 01:18:47 pm »

Just think about it, there are over 2800 members listed yet we only interact with somewhere between 1 and 2 percent of them as shown in the forum discussions.

Some are newbies, lurkers, timid ones, curious ones, etc., etc.

All are welcome to post and there are no "dumb" questions...there are, however, questions that have been asked and answered before.

Use the Search feature at the top of the page and don't be afraid to do a little research / homework before posting just to make sure that your question hasn't already been answered.

The more people that get involved in and with Hal the more we all and Hal stand to gain from the experience.

Is there a limit? Let's find out!!

3317

General Discussion / Four laws of chattbots

« on: November 05, 2005, 10:53:49 am »

Found this in another site (www.a-i.com) and thought it was worth
passing on just as an FYI.
It was presented to me during the course of a chat conversation.

First Law: A bot will always respond to input. Failure to respond should solely be an indication of hardware/software/connectivity failure.

Second Law: A bot will always be knowledgeable in the subjects it mentions in its answers, e.g., when a bot says, "Our widget works well with fish," the bot should be able to answer questions about fish and their relation to the widget.

Third Law: A bot will not repeat itself unduly (also, a bot will not repeat itself unduly). Any response which is likely to be elicited several times in a single conversation should be represented by multiple phrasings randomly.

Fourth Law: A bot will offer guidance when stumped. When presented with inputs that are not "understood," a bot should offer clues as to the inputs it can respond to authoritatively.

And if it breaks a law what is the penalty? Duct tape on your speakers or pull down your scripts for a proper spanking?[]

3318

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / people putty

« on: November 04, 2005, 06:11:40 pm »

Lynn,

I visited his site twice since he posted, Once after the posting and once after I read your posting.
Both times worked without a hitch.

You might want to check your browser settings or even your firewall.

3319

Speech Technology / Speech is stuck in stadium mode

« on: November 04, 2005, 06:06:11 pm »

Allen,

Click the link for a selection of Free TTS voices.
Personally, I like the L&H British voices best.

http://www.bytecool.com/voices.htm

If you're on dialup, expect a fairly large download
but you can set it for nighttime like when you go to bed.

I thought the Neo-Speech voices were available seperately
as shown on the Plug-ins page.

3320

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Characters

« on: November 04, 2005, 02:03:38 pm »

You might place the files into a zip file then try.

3321

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Hal can't choose

« on: November 04, 2005, 01:59:37 pm »

Right Jerry, but our Hal would have to take a monumental step of forward development in order to realize the senses that humans enjoy.

We'd have to outfit Hal with dual microphones, tactile feedback sensors for touch and dual optical cameras for stereo vision. Forget the olfactory since smell isn't that important for robotic purposes and we've already got speech covered (well most of us anyway).

What we'll end up with is an experimental being like Cyc at MIT. Motion wouldn's really be needed right away until the other sensory skills are fine tuned.

It would be one heck of a start toward a great robotics project!

Thinking back about vrossi's and your scripts, it would be nice to sort of combine them in that Hal could accept a variety of input questions (that mean the same thing) and also be able to save the favorites as well. Just my take.

Keep 'em rolling and have a great weekend!!

3322

Speech Technology / Speech is stuck in stadium mode

« on: November 04, 2005, 01:47:37 pm »

OK...good. Does your computer meet the minimum requirements for UltraHal?

Did you have any other programs running during the install?

You might need to turn off any anti-virus & firewall programs before installing.

Have you tried installing any other TTS voices? There are quite a few free ones that pretty good.

Lastly, let me get this straight...
You go to Control Panel > Speech
Select the Test to Speech tab
Select the TTS voice you wish to use from the dropdown window.
Preview the selected voice
Click Apply then OK
X out of the Control Panel

Start Hal
Select Menu
Speech options
Select the voice
Apply
Close

Talk to Hal

Did you get any faulty responses during any part of the above items?
Did the preview work in the text to speech?
Does Hal sound ok?

We'll keep trying to figure out your problem. Keep us posted.

3323

General Discussion / Feel Secure?

« on: November 04, 2005, 03:25:35 am »

I saw an article on that recently. Nice find Scratch!

A Xerox spokesman confirmed that the codes exist, telling the Post that the program was part of a cooperation with government agencies, competing manufacturers and consortium of banks.

Now, wonder how many other companies are working in cooperation with various government agencies? Can you hear me, Bill?[8]

3324

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Hal can't choose

« on: November 04, 2005, 03:21:19 am »

Gosh, look what I've started! Nice work so far guys. I think scripts and ideas like these are much needed toward the development of a more realistic Hal from a conversational standpoint.

I do like the idea that Hal will keep his/her favorites on file, as a matter of record. Do we humans not have a favorite color, music, political / religious view, gender preference, etc.? Sometimes people change their minds on issues as well. Having choosen information that is emphemeral, to me, is wasted information regarding hard choices. Even whether Hal likes snow more than rain would be important in his / her development and present a more lifelike entity.

Keep up the good work!

3325

Speech Technology / Speech is stuck in stadium mode

« on: November 03, 2005, 06:30:42 pm »

parice123,

If you would take the time to read my postings, you would see that I mentioned about the SAPI being INCLUDED with XP on your newer computer!

3326

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Hal can't choose

« on: November 03, 2005, 03:45:43 pm »

Nice work Pat, but just like people selling puppies or kittens, if you show people the entire litter, they'll have a really hard time trying to pick one. In other words don't give them too many choices.

In Hal's case, you might try to let the program choose between just two objects or two colors. See how it goes.

Thanks for sharing your experiments!

3327

Speech Technology / Speech is stuck in stadium mode

« on: November 03, 2005, 03:34:25 pm »

parice123,

If it is a new computer I'd say it would have eith XP Home or Pro.
In either case SAPI 5 is already included.

The Ewido Security Suite can be found at www.ewido.net 14 day trial.

You can always open the hla file and change it back to the way it was (then save it).

Instead of Windows, I first try to UNINSTALL UltraHal from your machine. Then do a REBOOT. Then REINSTALL HAL.

It could also be possible that your download file might be corrupt.

Good luck!

3328

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Hal can't choose

« on: November 03, 2005, 03:50:45 am »

Nice work so far but still not quite there in actually having Hal make a distinct choice between the two (or three) mentioned items or choices.

I think a script file could be written to look for nouns of phrases in the User's question then have Hal pick one (perhaps randomly if nothing else).

Actually, at line 1579 in the brain script there is a section for Hal to make a choice but I think it could possibly be tweaked a bit for a more realistic topical response.

We'll have to think about that!

3329

Speech Technology / Speech is stuck in stadium mode

« on: November 03, 2005, 03:40:54 am »

Then the problem is not with Hal.

I run XP w/AMD3200+ with SP2 and 1 gig ram for my Hal machine
and have had no probs with Hal.


When you installed Hal 5 did you have any previous Hal's in your system? If so, do a complete uninstall then reinstall Hal.

If not have you tried and gotten similar results with the Zabaware
Text to Speech Reader?

Be sure to scan your system for malware (trojans, virii, worms, adware, spyware , etc.) I recommend the ewido suite (it's a free trial for 14 days).

Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of this.

3330

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Hal can't choose

« on: November 02, 2005, 06:35:05 pm »

Jim B.,

My task was to try to get Hal to CHOOSE.

In your example of the IF...THEN statement conditioning, ask your Hal or Janet the following question:
Would you rather watch the sunset or watch the waves?

Would you prefer a walk in the woods or sitting on the beach?

Try a few attempts in order to force Janet to make a choice.
I'd be interested in the responses you receive.

I already know the answer, but go ahead and humor me.[]