Virtual Woman

Last updated

Virtual Woman is a software program that has elements of a chatbot, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, a video game, and a virtual human. It claims to be the oldest form of virtual life in existence, as it has been distributed since the late 1980s. [1] Recent releases of the program can update their intelligence by connecting online and downloading newer personalities and histories.

Contents

Screen shot from a beta release of Virtual Woman Millennium. This image was widely distributed to promote the software's upcoming release. New screen shot1.jpg
Screen shot from a beta release of Virtual Woman Millennium. This image was widely distributed to promote the software's upcoming release.

Program play

When Virtual Woman starts, the user is presented with a list of options and then may choose their Virtual Woman's ethnic type, personality, location, clothing, etc. or load a pre-built Virtual Woman from a Digital DNA file. Once the options are determined, the user is presented with a 3-D animated Virtual Woman of their selection and then can engage them in conversation, progressing in a manner similar to that of its predecessor, ELIZA and its successors, the chatbots. [1] [2] In most versions of Virtual Woman, this is done through the keyboard, but some versions also support voice input.[ citation needed ]

Virtual Woman's current publishing company, CyberPunk Software, claims that over one and a half million copies of Virtual Woman are in existence.[ citation needed ] Software sales and usage statistics from private companies are difficult to verify. WinSite, an independent Internet shareware distribution site that does publish public download counts, has for some time now listed some version of Virtual Woman in their top three shareware downloads of all time with well over seven hundred thousand downloads. [3]

The Washington Post reported on April 6, 2007 that two bank security guards who had been distracted from their duties by playing Virtual Woman and then tried to cover up the fact that they allowed US$52,000 to be stolen. The bank manager refused to say whether they would be fired, but did say, "I don't think they are getting promoted." [4]

Compadre

The group of beta testers and advisers for Virtual Woman are referred to as Compadre and have their own beta testing site and forum. [5]

Criticisms

As Virtual Woman has developed the ability to conduct longer and more realistic interactions, particularly in recent beta releases, criticism has arisen [6] that this may lead some users to social isolation, or to use the program as a substitute for real human interaction. However, these are criticisms that have been leveled at all video games and at the use of the Internet itself. [6] A company representative, Nancy, indirectly responded to such accusations in an interview with ABC News reporter Mike Martinez in 1998 by stating that Virtual Woman played a valuable role by allowing some form of social interactions for people who may not normally be able to take part in them. She cited a user who wrote to thank them because the program had relieved his boredom and isolation while he was recovering from a crippling accident in the hospital.[ citation needed ]

Release history

Notes

  1. 1 2 "What makes the perfect woman?". The Sydney Morning Herald. May 13, 2008.
  2. "Sich eine Traumfrau backen". Stern Magazine. July 6, 2007.
  3. "WinSite's Top 250 Downloads". WinSite. Archived from the original on 2009-02-08.
  4. "This Week in OFFbeat Crime". The Washington Post.
  5. "Virtual Woman News". Virtual Woman Official Website.
  6. 1 2 Is Talking to a Virtual Woman Cheating? by Jane Trebay

Related Research Articles

Microsoft Windows was announced by Bill Gates on November 10, 1983. Microsoft introduced Windows as a graphical user interface for MS-DOS, which had been introduced a couple of years earlier. In the 1990s, the product line evolved from an operating environment into a fully complete, modern operating system over two lines of development, each with their own separate codebase.

Shareware is a type of proprietary software which is initially provided free of charge to users, who are allowed and encouraged to make and share copies of the program. Shareware is often offered as a download from a website or on a compact disc included with a magazine. Shareware differs from freeware, which is software distributed at no cost to the user but without source code being made available; and open-source software, in which the source code is freely available for anyone to inspect and alter.

Windows Update Software update distribution service for Microsoft Windows

Windows Update is a Microsoft service for the Windows 9x and Windows NT families of operating system, which automates downloading and installing Microsoft Windows software updates over the Internet. The service delivers software updates for Windows, as well as the various Microsoft antivirus products, including Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials. Since its inception, Microsoft has introduced two extensions of the service: Microsoft Update and Windows Update for Business. The former expands the core service to include other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Office and Microsoft Expression Studio. The latter is available to business editions of Windows 10 and permits postponing updates or receiving updates only after they have undergone rigorous testing.

Windows Virtual PC virtualization program for Microsoft Windows

Windows Virtual PC is a virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006 Microsoft released the Windows version as a free product. In August 2006, Microsoft announced the Macintosh version would not be ported to Intel-based Macintosh computers, effectively discontinuing the product as PowerPC-based Macintosh computers would no longer be manufactured. The newest release, Windows Virtual PC, does not run on versions of Windows earlier than Windows 7, and does not officially support MS-DOS or operating systems earlier than Windows XP Professional SP3 as guests. The older versions, which support a wider range of host and guest operating systems, remain available. Starting with Windows 8, Hyper-V supersedes Windows Virtual PC.

Windows 9x Series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems

Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced from 1995 to 2000, which were based on the Windows 95 kernel and its underlying foundation of MS-DOS, both of which were updated in subsequent versions. The first version in the 9x series was Windows 95, which was succeeded by Windows 98 and then Windows Me, which was the last version of Windows on the 9x line.

Microsoft Office XP Version of Microsoft Office suite

Microsoft Office XP is an office suite created and distributed by Microsoft for the Windows operating system. Office XP was released to manufacturing on March 5, 2001, and was later made available to retail on May 31, 2001. It is the successor to Office 2000 and the predecessor of Office 2003.

WindowBlinds Software by Stardock

WindowBlinds is a computer program that allows users to skin the Windows graphical user interface. It has been developed by Stardock since 1998, and is the most popular component of their flagship software suite, Object Desktop. It is also available separately, and as an ActiveX/COM component called DirectSkin. Introduced in its sixth version, it supports alpha blending effects similar to the compositing of Windows Vista, but on Windows XP.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs thin client operating system from Microsoft

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs ("WinFLP") is a thin client operating system from Microsoft, based on Windows XP Embedded and is optimized for older, less powerful hardware. It was released on July 8, 2006 and is not marketed as a full-fledged general purpose operating system, although it is functionally able to perform most of the tasks generally associated with one. It includes only certain functionality for local workloads such as security, management, document viewing related tasks and the .NET Framework. It is designed to work as a client–server solution with RDP clients or other third party clients such as Citrix ICA.

PowerArchiver proprietary file archiver for Microsoft Windows

PowerArchiver is a proprietary file archiver for Microsoft Windows, developed by ConeXware Inc. It supports creating and reading ZIP, 7z, and Tar archive formats, as well as various disk image formats. Additionally, it can read RAR and ACE files. The evaluation version of the program remains functional for 40 days. Personal licenses are currently permitted free lifetime updates to all future versions of the software, while the business license is valid through two major versions.

A registry cleaner is a class of third-party utility software designed for the Microsoft Windows operating system, whose purpose is to remove redundant items from the Windows Registry.

The Windows shell is the graphical user interface for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Its readily identifiable elements consists of the desktop, the taskbar, the Start menu, the task switcher and the AutoPlay feature. On some versions of Windows, it also includes Flip 3D and the charms. In Windows 10, the Windows Shell Experience Host interface drives visuals like the Start Menu, Action Center, Taskbar, and Task View/Timeline. However, the Windows shell also implements a shell namespace that enables computer programs running on Windows to access the computer's resources via the hierarchy of shell objects. "Desktop" is the top object of the hierarchy; below it there are a number of files and folders stored on the disk, as well as a number of special folders whose contents are either virtual or dynamically created. Recycle Bin, Libraries, Control Panel, This PC and Network are examples of such shell objects.

Criticism of Windows XP deals with issues with security, performance and the presence of product activation errors that are specific to the Microsoft operating system Windows XP.

Development of Windows Vista occurred over the span of five and a half years, starting in earnest in May 2001, prior to the release of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, and continuing until November 2006.

Software remastering re-writing software with customizations

Software remastering is software development that recreates system software and applications while incorporating customizations, with the intent that it is copied and run elsewhere for "off-label" usage. The term comes from remastering in media production, where it is similarly distinguished from mere copying.

Microsoft PowerToys set of freeware system utilities developed by Microsoft

Microsoft PowerToys is a set of freeware system utilities designed for power users developed by Microsoft for use on the Windows operating system. These programs add or change features to maximize productivity or add more customization. PowerToys are available for Windows 95, Windows XP, and Windows 10. The PowerToys for Windows 10 are free and open-source software licensed under the MIT License and hosted on GitHub.

DeskSpace virtual desktop manager

DeskSpace, formerly known as Yod'm 3D is a virtual desktop manager available for Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7.

Kaspersky Internet Security

Kaspersky Internet Security is an internet security suite developed by Kaspersky Lab compatible with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. KIS offers protection from malware, as well as email spam, phishing and hacking attempts, and data leaks. Kaspersky Lab Diagnostics results are distributed to relevant developers through the MIT License.

Windows Live Messenger Deprecated instant messaging client

MSN Messenger, later rebranded as Windows Live Messenger, was a cross-platform instant messaging client developed by Microsoft. It connected to the Microsoft Messenger service while also having compatibility with Yahoo! Messenger and Facebook Messenger. The client was first released as MSN Messenger Service on July 22, 1999, and was marketed under the MSN branding until 2005 when it was rebranded under Windows Live. It has since been officially known by its second name, although its first name was still used colloquially by most of its users. In June 2009, Microsoft reported the service attracted over 330 million active users each month, placing Messenger among the most widely used instant messaging clients in the world.

Xojo programming environment and programming language

The Xojo programming environment and programming language is developed and commercially marketed by Xojo, Inc. of Austin, Texas for software development targeting macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS, the Web and Raspberry Pi. Xojo uses a proprietary object-oriented language.

The JIBIN Server is or was a combined "HTTP, HTTPS, XMPP, FTP, SMTP, POP3, DNS, DHCP, Java Servlet, JSP, and proxy server" developed by Tod Sambar. The Proxy Server provided also a dial-on-demand service to an Internet service provider.