Talking Moose
Encyclopedia
The Talking Moose is an animated talking utility for the Apple Macintosh. It was created in 1986 by Canadian programmer Steven Halls. It is the first animated talking agent on a personal computer and featured a moose
that would appear at periodic intervals with some joke or witticism. The moose would also comment on system events and user actions and could speak what a user typed using the Moose Proof desk accessory.
The moose was the first facially animated talking agent with lip synchronization and it became the seed idea for future talking agents, such as Clippy
the paperclip in Microsoft Windows, and Prody Parrot from Creative Soundblaster.
The Talking Moose used Apple's Macintalk software, the first version of which famously made the original "Never trust a computer you can't lift" speech at the Macintosh launch in 1984. Apple's development of Macintalk had petered out and they granted Halls permission to use, and continue refining, the software for free. Halls did not just improve the fluidity of the speech and the reliability of the interpretation but gave the moose a library of comedic observations and wisecracks which gave it a distinct character.
The original Moose was distributed with the Bob LeVitus
book Stupid Mac Tricks in 1989. Later versions allowed full speech integration for software developers and even a HyperCard
plugin.
In the 1990s, development of the program was taken over by Uli Kusterer under the name Uli's Moose - for which he later obtained Steve Halls' blessing. This Moose was included in Bob LeVitus' iMac (and iBook) book "I Didn't Know You Could Do That".
Version 2.0 was released in 1987, and ran on Macintosh systems 6.0.4 - 7.1. The Macintalk voice used for the Moose was 'Fred'.
Baseline Publishing eventually commercially published the talking moose, and released version 4, introducing new characters from a "Cartoon Carnival" supposedly run by the titular ungulate.
Uli Kusterer - the next author of the moose - got rid of the cartoon carnival, and worked more in the spirit of the original moose, releasing new versions starting at 1.0, which supported Mac OS 7.1 - 9.2. These were released initially on CompuServe, and later on the internet. He also developed the first OS X native version (v 3.0). The latest Macintosh version of the Moose (v3.5.7) works with OS X 10.3 through 10.5 and includes Universal Binaries.
As of 2007, a Windows XP
version of The Talking Moose by Aaron Lambert can be downloaded from here.
From January 8 2009, The Talking Moose has been posting periodic comments to a Twitter
account.
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
that would appear at periodic intervals with some joke or witticism. The moose would also comment on system events and user actions and could speak what a user typed using the Moose Proof desk accessory.
The moose was the first facially animated talking agent with lip synchronization and it became the seed idea for future talking agents, such as Clippy
Office Assistant
The Office Assistant was a Microsoft Office feature to assist users by way of an interactive animated character, which interfaced with the Office help content. It used technology initially from Microsoft Bob and later Microsoft Agent, offering advice based on Bayesian algorithms...
the paperclip in Microsoft Windows, and Prody Parrot from Creative Soundblaster.
The Talking Moose used Apple's Macintalk software, the first version of which famously made the original "Never trust a computer you can't lift" speech at the Macintosh launch in 1984. Apple's development of Macintalk had petered out and they granted Halls permission to use, and continue refining, the software for free. Halls did not just improve the fluidity of the speech and the reliability of the interpretation but gave the moose a library of comedic observations and wisecracks which gave it a distinct character.
The original Moose was distributed with the Bob LeVitus
Bob LeVitus
Bob LeVitus is an American author of more than 50 computer-related books, particularly on the Apple Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad for the book series ...For Dummies. He started his own Mac troubleshooting business, called Dr. Mac Consulting. He has been a columnist for the Houston Chronicle since...
book Stupid Mac Tricks in 1989. Later versions allowed full speech integration for software developers and even a HyperCard
HyperCard
HyperCard is an application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer, Inc. that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, written...
plugin.
In the 1990s, development of the program was taken over by Uli Kusterer under the name Uli's Moose - for which he later obtained Steve Halls' blessing. This Moose was included in Bob LeVitus' iMac (and iBook) book "I Didn't Know You Could Do That".
Moose Versions
Version 1.0 of the Talking Moose was released in 1986 by Steve Halls.Version 2.0 was released in 1987, and ran on Macintosh systems 6.0.4 - 7.1. The Macintalk voice used for the Moose was 'Fred'.
Baseline Publishing eventually commercially published the talking moose, and released version 4, introducing new characters from a "Cartoon Carnival" supposedly run by the titular ungulate.
Uli Kusterer - the next author of the moose - got rid of the cartoon carnival, and worked more in the spirit of the original moose, releasing new versions starting at 1.0, which supported Mac OS 7.1 - 9.2. These were released initially on CompuServe, and later on the internet. He also developed the first OS X native version (v 3.0). The latest Macintosh version of the Moose (v3.5.7) works with OS X 10.3 through 10.5 and includes Universal Binaries.
As of 2007, a Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
version of The Talking Moose by Aaron Lambert can be downloaded from here.
From January 8 2009, The Talking Moose has been posting periodic comments to a Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account.
External links
- Uli's Talking Moose for Macintosh v3.5.7 (Download) http://www.zathras.de/moose/
- Talking Moose for Windows XP v5 (Download) http://www.halls.md/moose/index.htm
- Wired Article about the Talking Moose http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,45915,00.html
- The original Moose manual from Baseline Publishing http://www.mlcsmith.com/prose/moose/
- Stupid Mac Tricks chapter about the Talking Moose http://www.halls.md/moose/stupidmactricks.htm
- Pictures of Talking Moose (timeline) http://www.halls.md/moose/images/TimelineBigFacesOnly.bmp
