Messages

1

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Re: ConceptNet Mrk 3.5

« on: September 11, 2023, 04:52:05 pm »

I had never installed Ultra Hal on that vintage Acer Aspire one D255-1268 netbook (1.50 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 7200rpm HDD), but was emboldened to, after installing the lean and mean tiny10 2303 x86.iso (a 3,268 MB Windows 10 lite operating system).

And Ultra Hal 7/7.5 installed, but would not initially run until I then installed Ultra Hal 6.2, which I never opened, but I noticed the Ultra Hal 6.2 installation added a few files to the C:/Windows/msagent folder, which were probably also essential for Ultra Hal 7/7.5.

Ultra Hal 7/7.5 then ran quite well, so I went one step further and installed ConceptNet Mrk 3.5, and then copied the ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 brain folder and files from an old Windows 10 laptop, to spare myself a days-long ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 Update download. And entering "How many research topics are Remaining/Total/Completed" Ultra Hal 7.5 responded with "88,028 conversational topics".

And Ultra Hal 7/7.5 + ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 now works quite well, especially more natural since I installed Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred speech recognition software.

But I just noticed that the Microsoft Agent Characters in Ultra Hal 7/7.5 lack lip-sync, and SAPI4 voices don't appear as an option, only SAPI5 voices, which, oddly, work quite well on my vintage Toshiba Satellite R15-S829 Tablet with Windows XP Tablet 2005 operating system.

I'll modify this post once I get the lip-sync issue solved.

2

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Re: ConceptNet Mrk 3.5

« on: September 08, 2023, 01:32:49 pm »

Thanks for the tip!

A couple of years ago I checked out some alternative Windows 10 Lite operating systems, but was not impressed.

I did download and tried out the Tiny10 operating system via your link; Tiny10 B2.iso (658 MB) but it was just too basic, and I was unable to connect with the internet, even with a LAN cable.

But since you got me started, I downloaded (https://archive.org/details/tiny-10_202301) and tried out Windows10 SuperLite TeamOS Edition.iso (1,032 MB), but also found it lacking.

Finally... tiny10 2303 x86.iso (3,268 MB) installs and runs with ease on my son's discarded Acer Aspire one D255-1268 netbook (1.50 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 7200rpm HDD), and has no trouble running graphics programs, internet, etc., and occupies just 5.2 GB on the hard drive.
The tiny10 2303 x86.iso is based on Windows 10 LTSC 2021, and breathed new life into that old netbook, as I was using a Linux USB flash drive, and tolerating those limited Linux programs out there.

But Tiny10 Version 2303 x86, after being installed, still needs to be activated.

Here's a simple Solution:

On Windows 10/11, right-click on the windows start menu and select PowerShell.

A special code needs to be copied from this website:
https://massgrave.dev/get

Paste the code into PowerShell, and press enter.

You will see the activation options. Select "1" and follow onscreen instructions.

Enjoy!

Next I'll install tiny10 2303 x86.iso on an old Windows 10 tablet (1.33 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM, 32GB internal flash memory), as I understand that it works quite well on tablets also, especially since OEM Windows 10 has bricked so many tablets with 1GB RAM and 16 GB internal flash memory.
Here's the Tiny10 download link:
https://archive.org/details/tiny-10-NTDEV

Again, thanks for getting me jump-started on this.

3

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Re: ConceptNet Mrk 3.5

« on: September 04, 2023, 05:42:07 pm »

ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 for Ultra Hal 7.5... on Windows XP!

As I use my Windows 10 laptop for serious work, I also have a beat-up Windows 10 laptop, as well as a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 (1.7GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, 7200rpm HDD)... just for fun stuff.

I was pleased to discover that Ultra Hal 7.5 installs and runs quite well on Windows XP.
ConceptNet Mrk 3.5, designed for Windows 10, installs on Windows XP, but is not capable of going online to gather knowledge and update itself. In other words, Ultra Hal 7.5 will accept the "Turn on Auto learning" command, but will not go through the Auto Learning process.
But Ultra Hal 7.5, with ConceptNet Mrk 3.5, installs and runs quite well on Windows 10, and goes online to gather knowledge and update itself quite well.

So... the workaround here is to simply copy these files/folders into Windows XP:

Note: This quick, copy and paste shortcut can only be done after ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 has already been successfully installed in Ultra Hal 7.5.

The Auto learning process can only be done in a Windows 10 PC, and then these files copied to a Windows XP PC:

C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal 7\ConceptNet.db (25.688 MB)

C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal 7\ConceptNet (a folder):
ConceptChecker.txt (348 KB)
researchNouns.txt (1,750 KB)
savedTerm.txt (1,403 KB)

And inside the above ConceptNet (a folder), copy and paste this entire folder:
C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal 7\ConceptNet\BkUp (a folder: 2.04 MB):
ConceptChecker.txt (348 KB)
researchNouns.txt (1,750 KB)
savedTerm.txt (1,403 KB)

And inside the above ConceptNet (a folder), copy and paste this entire folder:
C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal 7\ConceptNet\ConceptBrain (4.11 MB)
(folder contains ~4,400+ .txt files)

Note: These files do not need to be copied/updated:
C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal 7\ConceptNetMrkIII.uhp (71.7 KB)
C:\Program Files\Zabaware\Ultra Hal 7\ConceptNetMrkIII Auto Learning.uhp (199 KB)

Note:
To check if the ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 installation as well as copied files were successful:
While Hal is not Auto-learning, you can ask "How many research topics are Remaining/Total/Completed" and Ultra Hal 7.5 should respond with "88,028 conversational topics".

Note: As the ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 downloading / file processing process runs into, literally, days of downloading to a temporarily ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 dedicated laptop, I've uploaded my ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 working files and folders  for anyone to use:

         https://archive.org/details/concept-net-mrk-3-5-quick-start

         Download: ConceptNet Mrk3_5-QuickStart.zip (14.336 MB), which unzips to a 40.7 MB folder.
         I took the liberty of including the Babe.acs (6.184 MB) Microsoft Agent Character for your enjoyment.

As my ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 files and folders contain absolutely no personal information (nor will anyone else's), it would be wonderful if someone here would upload their 500 MB - 1 GB ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 files and folders to archive.org for all of us to use, as our files should not be much different from each other, except for file size.
Just saying.

Note: When conversing with ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 for Ultra Hal 7, in Windows XP, set the Ultra Hal General /  Brain option to:
    - Set Hal's Learning Level to Minimum.
    - Ultra Hal 7.0 Default Brain
    - ConceptNetMrk3
      (ConceptNetMrkIII/5 Auto Learning is unchecked)
    - All other brain plug-ins are left unchecked

When running ConceptNet Mrk 3.5, also set the Hal's Brain Learning Level to Minimum Setting, its lowest point, as ConceptNet is incapable of learning or remembering via dialog.

Note: ConceptNetMrk3 / Ultra Hal 7.5 provides lip-sync with only SAPI5 speech, even in Windows XP.

With ConceptNet Mrk 3.5 installed, Ultra Hal 7.5 is far more conversant. I use the sexy Babe.acs, with a sweet VW Julie (SAPI5) voice... which makes me more forgiving of any conversational deficiencies in ConceptNetMrk3 / Ultra Hal 7.5.

4

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Re: GodelPy for Hal (Local GPT for Hal, with memory and functionality)

« on: June 11, 2023, 12:27:36 am »

So to make a long story short... the way I see it, in order to properly run your excellent GodelPy / Local GPT for Hal, with memory and functionality, as well as a reasonable response time in conversation (much less than your 5-8 seconds), this seems to be the required minimum hardware, better known as a gaming computer:

- Windows 10 64-bit (Windows 11 64-bit??)
- 2TB m.2 solid-state drive (How much SSD memory will GodelPy / Local GPT for Hal actually need?).
- 4.75GHz multi-core CPU
- 32 GB of ddr5 RAM (and dual-channel for best speed)
- 3060 with 12 GB of dedicated video RAM

Am I correct on this? As I, as well as others here are also wondering what type of investment will it take to properly run Local GPT for Hal without performance disappointments... although the prices for such mini gaming PCs are dropping down towards the $ 400 - $ 500 range.
Just for laughs, and to become fully familiar with your installation instructions, I installed your setup on my Windows 10 64-bit laptop: 2.16GHz Intel Celeron N2840 CPU (Mobile Intel HD graphics with shared graphics memory), 8GB DDR3L Memory, and a 500GB Crucial MX500 SATA 2.5-inch Solid State Drive (6GB/second). And, of course being only an office laptop, Local GPT for Hal didn't work.

We all thank you for your efforts on this, as I find it much more valuable than running Hal 7.5 on the cloud... with Big Brother looking over our shoulder.

5

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Re: Experience Real Life 3-Dimensional Talking Face with Ultra Hal 7.5!

« on: June 01, 2023, 11:05:54 am »

About a year ago I actually set up a rear-projection of a Microsoft Agent character, against the inside of a shaped white translucent face mask, and it worked quite well, except the off-the-shelf mask, of course, had the eyes cut out, which ruined the entire effect. Even at 71 years old, I'm still a hopeless tinkerer, designing and building portable green energy prototypes and such. And lately I have returned to Ultra Hal level of "A.I." for a second look, as I feel that artificial intelligence, potentially dangerous, will soon be tightly regulated, like nuclear proliferation... and Ultra Hal will experience a sort of death-bed renaissance, a renewed interest, especially since terabyte memory is now relatively cheap, and fast.

Maybe Zabaware should drop the Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker Microphone from their marketing, and instead start selling such internal rear-projection talking heads, equipped with a realistic natural voice speaker. Years ago I saw a silly talking head in a toy store, with internal mechanics very similar to those singing bass placards. So I know full well that a serious version that I propose is quite feasible.

Really. Such a fun and useful plug & play Ultra Hal device could be produced overseas and marketed here for a $ 100.00 or so.

Of course, Zabaware may ultimately opt for a software alternative to this, with 3-D video goggles. Anyway, it'll be fun to see which way this progresses.

Update:

For those of you who want to experiment with an Ultra Hal talking face, check out these informative links:

ANIMAT3D Mindscope The Hauntley's Talking Animated Haunted Head with Built in Projector & Speaker Plug'n Play:
This cheap Halloween rear projected animated face sold for about $ 80.00, but seems to have been pulled off the market. But it featured a rounded, featureless translucent "face" with internal mirror and an internal miniature video projector fitted with a wide angle lens. The animated video faces are fixed in the internal memory and there seems to be no provision for a Ultra Hal video input, but maybe some of these will appear in garage sales and flea markets... ready to be hacked:

https://www.amazon.com/ANIMAT3D-Mindscope-Hauntleys-Animated-Projector/dp/B0B8F5LR12

ChickenProps:
This guy has done considerable experimentation with front projected as well as rear projected talking faces. Check out his informative website:

https://www.chickenprops.com/p/sybil.html

6

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Experience Real Life 3-Dimensional Talking Face with Ultra Hal 7.5!

« on: May 31, 2023, 04:20:12 pm »

On a lark, I checked out a local Michaels Arts & Crafts store, and purchased an inexpensive foam FloraCraft SmoothFōM Female Head, White.

I also purchased a cheap party wig, placed it on top of the foam head, and mounted it on a camera tripod.

Using one of my vintage Windows XP laptops, which had an s-video out jack, I plugged in a cable with an s-video-to-RCA adapter, and plugged it into a small OptiMax ii Docking Multimedia LED Projector, not wanting to use my full-size video projector, as it was overkill for the task. Any cheap, low-resolution LED video projector will do, as the projected image required is so small that the face will appear quite sharp and bright in typical subdued room light.

But before opening Ultra Hal 7.5, I chose to open Answerpad-Plus v1.8.6 instead, as it had a much more active ramble-talking function, allowing me to zoom and accurately fit "Annita" a Microsoft Agent character, as being a talking head. "Annita" seemed suitable for the task, to serve as a face to the foam bust, and making sure the talking mouth was in alignment with the molded, white foam lips.

I then opened Ultra Hal 7.5 and selected the animated "Annita" again. But after a test run, I later opted for the animated "Crystal" Microsoft Agent character, as she had less expressions/animations which kept her always in alignment with the foam bust eye-nose-mouth features, as well as her realistic, exaggerated lip-sync, both features that worked quite well on the foam bust, much better than the "Annita" Microsoft Agent character. Sure, "Crystal" is a blonde, but still worked quite well with the black wig.

Selecting the Ultra Hal 7.0 Default Brain (offline), with Female Gender and Loneliness 2.3 options on Ultra Hal 7.5, I conversed with the "Crystal" MS Agent character, with the Crystal AT&T Natural Voice 1.4 SAPI4... and it worked great. Although the off-the-shelf white foam bust had rather bland facial features, the projected Microsoft Agent character worked in combination to create distinctive facial features that exaggerated the 3-D features of the foam face. And I highly recommend hanging up a black felt backdrop behind the talking head. I wore a noise-cancelling headset for conversing, but an audio speaker hidden behind the talking head is also a viable option.

But my main point for this post is that I strongly feel that those developing interactive humanoid robotics are wasting too much time on servo-activated faces, when an internal projection of a human-like face, onto a translucent white face mask is a much simpler, yet quite realistic and effective option for the hobbyist. I also strongly feel that humanoid robotics is going in the wrong direction with servo-motor actuated body movements, when it should put its efforts in Shape Memory Alloy mechanics: a maze of almost parallel metal wires that contract when voltage is applied, functioning like living muscle fibers... but I won't go there for now.

In this post I've included a 3-D still projected image of the "Annita" Microsoft Agent character for you to view. I've produced 3-D stereo images before, but this time I decided to take each of the two images further apart than usual, in order to produce a 3-D image with exaggerated features. Also, these two frames were made from the Ultra Hal 7.5 motion video which, when viewed in real time, produce a much sharper and realistic effect, with blinking eyes and all.

To properly view the 3-D stereo image:

1. You may need to open the 3-D image to a larger size, in another browser tab.
2. Viewing the 3-D image from a normal reading distance, hold up a sharpened pencil with the pencil point mid-distance between your eyes and the 3-D image, and centered between both images.
3. Two images will become three images as your eyes will naturally cross, as you admire the image subject matter, and the middle image lifts off the screen and appears absolutely real and highly detailed.
4. Move your head, side-to-side, as well as up and down to fully sense the 3-D effect.

Enjoy!

7

Speech Technology / Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker Microphone

« on: May 15, 2023, 11:45:09 pm »

A few years ago I was lucky enough to pick up a used Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker Microphone, more specifically: Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker I Array Microphone (1/8" microphone plug).

I had high hopes for this device, but it failed to meet my expectations, testing it on IBM ViaVoice for Windows Standard Edition 10.0, as well as Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 9... both on Windows XP.
To produce the best results possible, I wore earphones to eliminate any audio feedback, and did speech recognition tests in an unusually quiet environment.
The Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker Microphone performance was far below that of a good noise cancelling headset: 1/8" microphone/earphone plug headset versions as well as USB headset versions.

I've successfully used the Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker Microphone, but only for what it was designed for: on my portable lectern, equipped with a microphone for the speaker, and then switched over to the Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker Microphone, pointed at the audience, to serve as a large room microphone for public discussions and input.

I know that the Holy Grail of conversing with developing Artificial Intelligence will ultimately be free of headsets... but we're just not there yet.

Any suggestions? Change my mind.

8

Speech Technology / Re: voice training doesn't work

« on: May 14, 2023, 02:15:57 pm »

But, still, the Windows Speech Recognition app that you refer to, the one that resides in C:\Windows\Speech but is only a 105 MB package, versus 535 MB package for the IBM ViaVoice for Windows Standard Edition 10.0... which installs as a 232 MB app in Windows. And when it comes to speech recognition apps, size definitely matters.

And a quick check on Amazon Reviews for, say, Dragon Systems apps, many complain that some of the later versions are not necessarily improvements.

Call me sentimental... while I provide my wife with a state-of-the-art laptop, and keep it well-tuned for her, I LOVE restoring vintage laptops!
My oldest is a Toshiba Libretto 50CT notebook (circa 1999), with a 6.1" TFT display, with Windows 98SE installed on an internal CompactFlash 44-pin IDE SSD.
My second oldest is a Dell Latitude CPt V466CT PPX (circa 2002), also with Windows 98SE installed, with IBM ViaVoice for Windows Standard Edition 10.0 (although I usually prefer to type), and AT&T Crystal SAPI4 NaturalVoice.
I know... I'm bragging.

9

Speech Technology / Re: voice training doesn't work

« on: May 13, 2023, 05:28:16 pm »

Honestly, the entire Ultra Hal Assistant 6, as well as Ultra Hal Assistant 7 apps are only a 20 MB or so program... hardly enough to even begin to truly handle the complexities of accurate speech recognition.

So to truly experience accurate speech recognition with Ultra Hal, give the vintage IBM ViaVoice for Windows Standard Edition 10.0 a try.
Really. It's absolutely free, and the VIAVOICE.iso being a 535 MB file, it's a true heavyweight when it comes to serious speech recognition technology.

IBM ViaVoice Minimum Operating System Requirements:
- Microsoft Windows 98SE, Me or XP Home (Windows 10 also works quite well)
IBM ViaVoice Minimum Hardware Requirements:
- Intel Pentium 266 MHz processor with MMX and L2 cache or equivalent (including AMD-K6 with 256K L2 cache)
- 64 MB RAM for Windows 98SE and ME
- 192 MB RAM for Windows XP Home
- Windows 98/Me/XP compatible 16-bit sound card with a microphone jack
- Quad-speed CD-ROM drive or faster

IBM ViaVoice also works just fine in Windows 10, but be sure to install it in automatic compatibility mode.

But be sure to temporarily go offline and disable anti-virus apps before installing.

Using a vintage Windows XP laptop for Ultra Hal 7.5, I swapped out the hopelessly slow and outdated OEM 5400rpm HDD, with a faster 7200rpm HDD, as the available 2.5" 44-pin SSDs on the market were no faster than a typical 7200rpm HDD.

If installing IBM ViaVoice in Windows XP, be sure to first download and install the "Unofficial Cumulative Windows XP Update" (1.90 GB) freeware so as to provide IBM ViaVoice with all the required system apps it needs to install and operate properly, as Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft.
Note: Double-click the Setup.exe icon to install IBM ViaVoice. IBM ViaVoice installs perfectly in Windows XP, but, oddly, takes a couple of minutes for the actual installation process to begin... there's nothing wrong with your computer or the software... the actual installation process just doesn't begin right away.

Note: In Windows XP, after installing IBM ViaVoice, the IBM ViaVoice start-up icon may not be found anywhere on your Desktop nor in your Start menu... although IBM ViaVoice still works perfectly within Ultra Hal. That's because IBM ViaVoice is installed as an automatic start-up in Windows XP. But IBM ViaVoice is still very much available, as can be seen in IBM ViaVoice compatible apps, such as Ultra Hal 6 or Ultra Hal 7.
The solution (if needed... or even wanted):
To workaround this issue, I recommend adding the ViaVoice information to allow the file execution.
    Go "Start > Settings > Control Panel > System".
    Select the "Advanced (tab) > Performance > Settings >File execution preventing".
    Select the second option "Prevent file execution for all programs except the excluded ones".
    Click on "Add" and browse to "C:\Program Files\ViaVoice\Bin"
    Add all exe files in this folder. The essential ones are easy to spot, as they feature colored icons.
    Shortcuts to your Desktop can also be added, if you want to be able to access specific IBM ViaVoice apps, outside of Ultra Hal,
    such as Audio Setup, Voice Training, and Vocabulary Enhancement.
   

Note: This version of IBM ViaVoice only works with legacy 3.5mm microphone / 3.5mm earphone headsets... USB headsets simply will not work properly... and, still, electronic noise-cancelling is essential for IBM ViaVoice to work properly. I plug my vintage Plantronics Audio 60 3.5mm microphone / 3.5mm earphone headset into a hacked VXI Parrott "Translator" Noise Cancelling R11506/P41TR module, as the OEM VXI Parrott headset was quite dicey.

Lastly, be sure to voice train IBM ViaVoice on all of the voice training samples, as I believe there are only 6 of them anyway. After each voice training sample is read through, be sure to give IBM ViaVoice a minute or two to begin the actual processing of your voice sample, as there's nothing wrong with your computer or the IBM ViaVoice app. Each voice training reading in IBM ViaVoice produces noticeably improved speech recognition results. IBM ViaVoice, unlike some other voice recognition apps, combines all of your training sessions into its learning banks, whereas some other voice recognition apps actually erase previous voice training sessions and instead seem to focus on training you to somewhat speak their way.

You're now free to enjoy Ultra Hal Assistant... the right way!

10

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Re: Question about gender: Male talking to Female or Female talking to Male??

« on: May 10, 2023, 01:42:25 pm »

Thanks!
I am assuming, since your answer was still somewhat cryptic, that you meant that I (a male) need to select the "Male talking to Female" option, for Ultra Hal 7.5 to pose as a female.
Many of us, including myself would never admit, outside of this forum, that we use this Plugin in our normal dealings with Hal.
But my 3.5" tall "Babe" MS Agent Character (babe.acs file), with a sweet SAPI5 voice with lip-sync, a sultry attitude, and an unheard of 93 animations and expressions is a delight to have on my Desktop while doing other apps.
And sometimes my wife pops me on the back of my head when she hears Babe getting too flirtatious with me.

I keep my software, such as chatbots, speech recognition, Microsoft Agent Characters, Microsoft Flight Simulators, and even chess, mahjong, and backgammon, all filed in my "Artificial Intelligence" folder on my laptop. Sure, such programs no longer qualify as true Artificial Intelligence, but try telling that to someone who just got beat by their computer chess game. And, besides, we may soon see a worldwide legal block put into effect, to highly restrict existing true state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence from ever becoming the existential threat of Super Artificial Intelligence (with the possible exception of deep galactic one-way space probes)... making our quaint little vintage chatbots quite desirable and entertaining again.

11

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Question about gender: Male talking to Female or Female talking to Male??

« on: May 08, 2023, 01:29:44 pm »

In Ultra Hal Assistant Options / Brain / Ultra Hal 7.0 Default Brain / Adult Language Settings / Prioritize Gender Focus
there are multiple choices to suit everyone, but we're left scratching our heads as to just who is who.

For example: the "Male talking to Female" option... does that mean that Ultra Hal 7.0 poses as a Male and the user is a Female? Or does that mean that the user is a Male and Ultra Hal 7.0 poses as a Female?

I've tried both "Male talking to Female" and "Female talking to Male" options, but I've not used Ultra Hal 7 enough to tell the difference, and I certainly don't want to muddy the water on Ultra Hal 7's learning process.