I don’t see all of your conversation because some is blocked on my current settings, I suggest you read a post of mine I wrote a little while ago to Dan. You might like my advice also 
I do that too (I mean, I totally don’t. I mess around on the internet for at least 15% of my ‘work’ time. And then there’s doggy potty breaks. And snack breaks. And ‘research’, which is also messing around on the internet, but with purpose. My day job, though, and the software I was referring to are all for cutting vectors). What I was saying was that my workflow with the nice software is more enjoyable and way more efficient. It’s fine that software design or interface isn’t important to you. Everyone is different.
I think that is what makes the forum interesting and informative. Everyone has something different to offer. There are lots of people who totally get the inner workings of lasers and drool over all the technical aspects and capabilities. I don’t want to give anyone the impression that the glowforge isn’t good for those people too. Or that my reasons should be everyone’s reasons.
People still have checkbooks?
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Ha! Me too. Ai or Fusion are usually my software starting point. I find it’s quite elegant, and something I’m comfortable with. My measurements in Ai (digital calipers), referenced to a known Zero, is my version of online checking- easy. So by the time i get to the machine, software design just needs to work. Mach3 is ugly as sin, but I just need it to interpret Data.
Future GF owners might want to understand calipers too- Material thickness? Yep, you’ll want to know that kinda accurately, even though there’s a camera.
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I don’t plan to make much money from my GF -mostly make gifts and a few bucks here and there ( like I currently do for sand-etched items), but I consider it an investment towards my happiness. I mean it sounds corny but I ENJOY creating things and seeing people react to what I have created, so to me it is an investment, just not necessarily a monetary return. Just my 2 cents worth 
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Failure rate with materials is an entirely different thing than failure in production.
I’ve been manufacturing stencils for 16 years, using the exact same material that is very consistent. You would think after all that practice I would be perfect. After all I cut for at least 6 hrs a day. However, just the other day I neglected to reset my z-axis after a double sheet cut and cut an entire sheet at the wrong height and had to scrap it…other times I have misaligned the honeycomb table and all the side cuts are off the material.
I consider myself fairly good at attention to detail. Almost OCD about my craft so it DOES happen…
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Although it’s not a good analogy (mostly), consider that 10% yield for some new fancy integrated circuits is considered acceptable (and 25-50% is just peachy). But the ones that get out the door work with more 9’s of reliability than you can shake a stick at.
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Actually… no. Most ICs have a rather high (potential) failure rate. That is why medical equipment costs so much, because anything which a life can depend on MUST have absolutely EVERY component sourced from a company which has certified low failure rates.
The certification of low failure rates is a pretty extensive procedure, and you have to continually re-verify.
Sure, other companies may happen to have low failure rates, but not certified low. And often it appears their fail rate is lower than it really is because they have a Quality Control/Assurance step between factory and distribution.
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Dan mentioned a potential "15% failure rate"in an earlier venture - that’s my reference .
Messing up a sheet once in a while is STILL nowhere near 25% materials loss (or failure rate, materials being one type of failure cost)
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15%, that’s almost 25%.
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Just curious- what are you going to do the first time you get a flame up?
You will get a flame up, it just happens. And when you extinguish that, you’ll need to clean the mirrors.
So, you might want to know a little more about how a laser works. Even if you have a GF.
Your response that I then responded to was from his post discussing the material waste. Easier to follow comments if they are responded to appropriately. I never saw a post by dan talking about 15% loss on GF production…only referencing materials loss when working to build the game pieces.
But it sounds like you are so knowlegable and have an answer for everything anyone says so…I’m done trying to be helpful with this portion of the subject…
Good luck in your endeavors.
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I also have been considering canceling my order for the Glow Forge and purchasing a Chinese laser in the 80-100 watt range. The tech and learning part on the Chinese laser doesn’t bother me as I have a background in electronics and work in IT.
The only thing so far that makes me want to stay with the GF is that I think it will be easier to learn techniques and settings. I consider it more of a starter machine to learn the basics before moving on to higher power machine that would be more suitable for business use.
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I think we’re talking past each other. I was thinking about the everyday miracle that a typical desktop CPU has to have a failure rate of less than 1 in every 10 trillion operations just get get through the day. For high-reliability stuff that’s not nearly enough, as you point out.
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Wish I could like more than once but since that isn’t an option 
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Glowforge mirrors are encased behind windows. I’ll wipe of the windows. Perk of the glowforge, for me as I said, is not having to do aligning and maintenance required of other lasers. If you want to clean your glowforge mirrors you’ll be voiding a warranty, probably.
Edit: Actually, I seem to recall that the windows are replaceable, although I may be making that up. So maybe you wouldn’t void a warranty by removing the windows to access the mirrors…
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I seem to recall Dan saying that they were replaceable but didn’t anticipate needing to… And they were cleanable with a simple wipe.
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Either way, you’ll still have something to clean.
Every aspect of life requires cleaning, don’t you think? I’m sure I’ll be dusting the glowforge too. It hardly demands specialized knowledge or skill…
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Before cleaning of the optics becomes an argument, links to prior discussions.
http://community.glowforge.com/t/how-to-clean-the-optics/2275
Post 3 links out to the two most relevant comments by @dan on the subject. Post 11 in the thread I linked is relatively relevant (in asserting the non-technical nature of cleaning).
Optics rarely need cleaned, and cleaning is no more complicated than cleaning your eyeglasses.
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