Yes, you can speak directly and not have to Ask / Tell HAL to... We have not published/released our support for Alexa so no videos or docs yet.
We are finishing up support for the VeraEdge and VeraPlus. There is some internal discussion about our technology road map which we have been adjusting recently. So I'm not sure as to the timetable for supporting the Insteon Hub... I know it is on the the road map, but I can't tell you when we will be arriving at that destination
Let me know what you think of the HALws when you start playing with it.
Thanks,
Tim