Microsoft Agent
Microsoft provides examples on its website for the use of Agent.
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| Original author(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1997 |
| Stable release |
2.0 / 2003
|
| Development status | Discontinued |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Available in | Multiple languages |
| Website | www |
Microsoft Agent was a technology developed by Microsoft which employed animated characters, text-to-speech engines, and speech recognition software to enhance interaction with computer users. Thus it was an example of an embodied agent. It came preinstalled as part of Windows 98 through Windows Vista. Microsoft Agent functionality was exposed as an ActiveX control that can be used by web pages.
The theory behind this software came from work on social interfaces by Clifford Nass and Byron Reeves at Stanford's Center for the Study of Language and Information.
Interactive character technology was first introduced in Microsoft Bob, which used an early version of Agent technology internally referred to as "Microsoft Actor." It was the code used in initial version of the Office Assistant in Office 97. Microsoft Agent was subsequently created by Tandy Trower in an attempt to offer technology that was more flexible and available to third-party developers to include in their applications and web pages. The software release also included four interactive characters as well as a utility that enables developers to assemble their own characters and interactions.
Microsoft Agent replaced the original Microsoft Bob code in Office 2000, although this use did not include Agent's much-touted speech synthesis or recognition capabilities or any of the four Microsoft Agent characters. Instead the Office team created their own characters including one dubbed "Clippit" or "Clippy". However, Bob Actors or Office 97 assistants are incompatible with Office 2000 and later versions, and vice versa. The current version of Microsoft Agent was quietly released on MSDN in 1997. Microsoft recently announced that "Microsoft has decided to discontinue development of Microsoft Agent technologies. Beginning with Windows 7, Microsoft Agent will not be included or supported in future versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. We encourage Microsoft Agent application developers and redistributors to evaluate their activities in light of this decision." Microsoft is no longer offering licenses and no longer distributes the SDK. (Due to customer feedback, Microsoft has decided to provide an installation package of the Microsoft Agent core components for use on Windows 7.)
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