What can YOU contribute

[The Tinman]

So many people have written postings that ask how do i keep this Hal program from talking gibberish, that the 3.0 version was so much better, that with every new version keeps getting worse. well to them I say one word........edit,.........edit edit edit. and when you are done edit some more. If you want a more controlled responce then create your own brain. the creators of this program have made visual basic very easy to manipulate. there is something called TOOLS on the task bar, in the brain editing function. USE IT!! Create your own brain, Take out the small talk, take out the subject predicate assembley function, then edit If it does not respond the way you wish then use the sentence key word function, override the things that you do not find appealing. I admit, There are things that do not function correctly within this program. If A.I. were and easy task then there would be all kinds of programs out there to choose from. there are but a few. I get so sick of people bitching because they paid (whatever for this program). Buck up buddy, if you could not afford it you should not have bought it in the first place. Get a high end machine and try it again. see what you can do to Help. Instead of bitching. The program says garbage in, garbage out in other words you get out of it what you put into it. You want a sentient entity for less than 50 bucks. you want perfection from a PROGRAM. Mr Medeksza, has given us a starting point. Not perfect, Has plenty of bugs, but I for one have goals for this program.......Have I had trouble with it, YES! Does it frustrate me, YES! Have I uninstalled it and reinstalled it, several times? YES! But still, I will keep trying and i urge you to do the same. That is how we will correct things within this program. Isn't there anyone who understands VB Scripting? No one smart enough to give insite into the problems that do indeed exist within the Hal program? Sure, Blame the people who took your money, I for one am going to use this program, and learn from my mistakes, in the end I am going to have something really cool. I am not a programmer, nor am i a rich man. But the money I paid for the Hal Program was money well spent, Perhaps it WAS released to soon, How are these developers supposed to survive to create a program that IS closer to what you people want out there. everyone has to eat. ..............

[Triggm]

Ok Tinman, you indeed make SOME valid points. I am sure that AI did not drop into the laps of the people at Zaba. However, their add did indeed say that you could communicate with HAL by way of voice. I have made numerous atempts and have finnaly had some success using Sdk sapi 4.0a suit. I have yet to make 5.1 work. Anyway, I understand the problems in dealing with this high tech issue. What I don't understand is the fact that I have repeadedly contacted Zabaware with no response what so ever.  I have read to many topics that are very close in nature to mine to believe that the seller is not aware of the difficulty. Well anyway after downloading just over one Gig of SDK SAPI etc etc. I can carry on somewhat of a conversation with Hal. Problem is I purchased Hal for my 9 year old daughter and she is brighter tham me and expects more from Hal. You see, I am not bitching. I am looking for some assistance in solving the problem. On the other hand, I will push until a solution is at hand. Any help is appreciated.

[Hunter]

I gotta throw in my 2 cents worth here.  

You both make some good points.  I appreciate the work that's been done to make this program work as well as it does.  I think most of us recognize that this is a starting point and not a perfect piece of software that will be everything to every user. As you point out Tinman, what we have is a project that we can all work on, to make this program better than it is and to customize it to our own individual requirements.  I am not a programmer but I'll dig in and do my best to modify what I can to make Hal operate to my liking.  While I'm in the process of learning how to do this and learning the peculiarities of the Hal program I'll mess up and have to go back and fix things.  I'll probably wind up starting over a number of times but life itself is a trial and error process.  That's not the problem.  

Where I agree with Triggm is in Zabaware's lack of communication.  I purchased the upgrade 10 days ago and was not been able to get the download to work within the 24 hour time limit.  I have addressed this issue in several private emails and on this forum and so far I have had no response from Zabaware.  I just want to be able to get the program so I can jump in and work with it.  Their instructions to get the re-download URL hasn't worked for me and I followed the instructions to a "T"!  Perhaps I did something wrong.  That could be.  I want to sort this out, get the program upgraded and work with it, and they, so far, have not responded to any of my inquiries.  Tinman, you are right.  Thirty five bucks is not a lot of money for this program and I don't expect perfection for that amount.  What I do expect is to be able to get what I paid for in a timely manner.  That's all.  In all advertizing there is some "Puffing".  However, whatever the cost of a product from a few bucks to several thousand there is an implied warranty of merchantablility.  That is basicaly the product should do what it is advertized to do.  I can't comment on this first hand because I can't get the product to see if it will or won't communicate with Hal using speach.  

So in summing up.  Hey!  You guys at Zabaware.  Please!  Reply to our emails.  I think most of us appreciate your efforts but we get frustrated when you don't answer us.  Keep the lines of communication open.  We expect your help with these problems and we're willing to help you with our suggestions and feedback.  Just think about it.  If you don't talk to us we're prob'ly gonna think the worst.

'Nuf Said!
                        Hunter.

[The Tinman]

Ok, I guess that it is time that I responded to some of this stuff. I read these postings quite often and some of the questions that come up are some of the things that have been addressed in the past. Such as the speech recognition. It does work, but you must have a closed head set, you must train the correct engine and then select the correct engine and it WILL work. I do understand however, why some of you have problems doing this. I have had  many people ask me how to make the cyber buddy and the Hal program function together. The main advantage to this is that you get a full screen face to work with, well I HAVE received your e mails and I apologise that I have not answered them. I am waiting for the upgrades. I am disappointed in the learning ability of the Hal 4.0 so I am waiting for the newest version that the owners of this site promised in Feb of this year. I know that Zabaware does not answer their mail like they should. I will not defend them. I will however, try to be a better participant within this forum. So, send me mail if you wish and I will try to help.

 Tinman