I’m new to privacy-focused person assistant solutions/products and I somehow followed Mycroft’s progress for some years (not much actually). Now I tried to follow-up with the current situation (just saw the pinned post in this forum). Actually the price is quite high but it’s ok for a privacy-focused solution that don’t sell that much like other commercial ones. So after telling you from where I come/start from, I have some questions I couldn’t answer myself and which I found a bit odd. Maybe you guys can help me?
From the long forum post, it sounds to me like if I buy from Mark II - Mycroft, I won’t get a product but just loose my money (like previous buyers?). This is a bit surprising to me because it says there are 40+ items on stock. Did I get this right?
Basically I’m quite technophile and doing IT stuff as my daily business. Beside of that, I don’t have the time to hack around with some product to make it work so it sounds like the Neon AI Personal Assistant is the right choice. Do I get it right that if I order it here Mycroft Mark II with Neon AI Operating System | Neon AI Personal Assistant - Now ChatGPT Powered!, the price includes all (VAT, customs, etc.), has the latest software (Neon AI v2), item is available and ships from EU/NL?
Where do I find technical information that isn’t listed on the shop page nor on Neon AI page? I’m especially looking for details on the distance I can talk to the device (in meters) and whether German language support works fine.
I hope you can help me with this. Furthermore feel free to give me some starter advice or let me know your experience, e. g. whether you suggest the product in the current state.
Because your questions mainly concern the retail operation, with which OVOS has no direct involvement, I’m most comfortable leaving this one for @NeonClary, who works Monday through Friday. I sincerely apologize for the delay, but I wouldn’t want to steer you wrong.
So sorry! Yes @warg I started to reply, got interrupted and didn’t manage to circle back.
Yes, you can purchase from Mark II - Mycroft and get a product. What were not fulfilled were backer rewards.
2a. Either place you order from, the Mark II will come with our software. Ordered from us directly it is often slightly more current, but it’s easy to have it update itself either way.
2b. Neither we nor Mycroft are pre-paying the VAT for customers. (We at Neon have paid it for developer / support bounty rewards. )
2c. We both ship from the United States.
2d. Our shipping charge is lower right now.
3a. There is quite a bit of info about the Mark II on Mycroft’s site. We don’t have any additional technical info posted, but you may find some good user response to questions. I suggest posting them either here with their own title, or joining our Element chat rooms and asking on there. https://matrix.to/#/#NeonMycroft:matrix.org
3b. The Mark II is pretty good at picking up audio. I get a response from any distance at which it can hear me at a “quiet voice” volume. For example, in adjoining room 4 meters away my normal loud speaking voice is sufficient.
3c. German language support is part way there. You can enable responses from Neon AI on the Mark II in German, or in both English and German. I don’t speak German to test it thoroughly, but I do speak and have tested the French responses. They are pretty good, but not perfect. You cannot yet speak to Neon AI in any language other than English. We have a Ukrainian team member who has gotten the first couple skills translated into Ukrainian to enable Neon to accept input in Ukrainian. We have several German community members hoping to get the skills translated into German so that Neon AI can be fully functional in German, so I expect it will be the next language we get it Neon up and running in. However, I can’t promise a timeline.
I would add, with respect to language support, that once the OVOS Foundation is finished incorporating, this is one of the areas I expect rapid and dramatic improvements across the ecosystem.
Of the four people who were maintaining Mycroft’s NLP stuff at the time OVOS split, two are OVOS board members. One has pioneered some technical work OVOS will be using. A co-maintainer we’ve picked up along the way speaks German at home. So does his Assistant, to a limited but growing extent.
I think the user-facing fruits are a long way off, but robust language support is a priority and, at this rate, will certainly reach German as early as any language.
Translating skills has always been the slow part. It isn’t very glamorous, but it’s one of the most valuable contributions you can make.
I’d add, translating doesn’t need high-level tech skill either. A lot of it could be done by a fluent speaker of the language with very basic tech skills.