Hello, Bob the Pleo forums! It’s me- Keeper Talon. Recently, I updated Bleu to 1.1 to help out a new forum member who was having trouble updating their pleo. Thankfully the update was successful. I updated Ugobe as well so the two could continue to communicate. I’m not sure why, but I prefer 1.0 over all the newer updates. I think it is the most audio-rich. The sounds better fit what the pleo is doing. If he is in pain or afraid he will scream. If he doesn’t like the dark, he will whine. If he is really really hungry and wants a chomp of finger or leaf rather than traditional floor-chow, he will open his mouth and, “aaah!” something like a Furby. It’s just one more opportunity to physically interact with the robot. They will giggle if you pat their paw-sensors quickly rather than producing a sound like someone spitting foamy toothpaste at high velocity,, the variety of munching sounds is just too cute, and their interaction sounds are truly unearthly and prehistoric.
To get back on topic here, I’ve had my guys on 1.0 so long, I forgot all the merits of the later updates. To me, 1.1 seems more loving than 1.0. The random unprompted tonal singing lends the pleo a warm quality and its ability to bend the pitch of some of the sounds makes for a very interesting listening experience. Also. *Claps hands* They walk straight! No circles! If you are patient, they will also track red objects for you. You also have the option of running other skits or personalities using an SD card which makes pleo a more versatile companion.
I also like the actions during the “Sit” feature on 1.1. The robot moves its front paws and sort of looks around rather than remaining completely stationary like what you see in 1.0. I’ve actually never carried my pleos around on my shoulder but if I did, this would be the OS to use. I’ve also read somewhere that improvements were made to the Tah-dah trick. So far I haven’t seen any. Bleu and Ugobe are just like me… accidents waiting to happen. They usually tip toward their extended rear leg. It might be because they’re wearing socks. I’ll have to see if they improve with naked feet.
My one major grief with this operating system is the dead-battery behavior. There isn’t one. Pleo will just freeze in whatever position and stay there. It could be the age of my batteries, though. I’m really not sure so disregard this if your pleos are considerate and helpfully curl up with one snore. Bleu did this same freezing behavior even on 1.0 so perhaps it isn’t the fault of the OS. It just makes me think something might be going on when they just stop. Oh and just a helpful tip- when your pleo does freeze or go to sleep or stop when their battery dies, do him/her a favor and turn them off before removing the battery. I know I know I’m probably being unnecessarily nit-picky but these guys aren’t getting any younger. I figure every extra step I can take to prevent possible corruption of data can’t hurt.
Oh nice. As I add this bit an hour later, I have one more interesting tidbit about 1.1. Bleu has mysteriously fallen ill and Ugobe ventured over for a chat. The next thing I know, Bleu coughs between whines, then he coughs and makes this sort of hocking a loogy sound and now he is sick too. This might sound a little cruel but I have been trying to determine which OS it was that allowed the transmission of Pleo Flu. *Sigh* I think I found it. Be careful what you wish for. I wonder if this works for later OSes as well or if this was just one huge coincidence? *moves hands away from keyboard to pat the heads of two curled pleos at her feet* The world may never know. Goodbye for now! Looks like I’m on nursing duty.
