Are there going to be any software functions available to pro users which are not available to basic users?
Obviously basic users won’t have pass through functionality, however I would still expect to see all the other registration related functions - resuming a cut after the piece has been moved, unrolling a piece of leather to cut something wider than the bed, etc. I remember this being explicitly stated as a feature available to basic users in a tested interview, and is part of what convinced me to buy a Glowforge, although I will have to find the link when I am home rather than on my phone.
The tech specs page enumerates the “Pro Upgrade” improvements and software features are conspicuously absent. In previous interviews the Pro improvements have been described as better hardware with a higher duty cycle, and software differences have never been mentioned. Never the less, it would be nice to get confirmation of this
If there are going to be software differences between the Pro and Basic, please state explicitly what Basic users will miss out on before shipping starts
There haven’t yet been any. In one of the earliest tested interviews it was claimed the function worked on their prototypes but wasn’t production ready, but we likely won’t know how it works until they ship and we get access to the software. I wouldn’t expect to see that feature for a while after they ship
Sorry, but, that seems unlikely at this point as they haven’t responded positively to requests for information on the placement of the slot in relation to the height of the machine. There has been no response to others asking your same question, if we’re lucky we may get a demo just before it ships.
The lack on any information and their reluctance to demonstrate the Pro doesn’t bode well for it being shipped on time with the Basic in December. I have a feeling they will delay it but offer pre-orders a downgrade option to the basic with a refund of the difference.
Supposedly the hardware is ready to go, the only thing holding it back is the software, so they should both (basic & pro) ship at the same time. Then the software will be updated to include all the functionality that was missing.
Then why not show us the hardware? We were told they didn’t ship in June because of an issue with the power supply. How is the software still that far behind?
That’s the question… it’s just a case of mismanagement IMO. They released the product before it was ready to be released and thought they could jam out the software in a couple months. We can’t really know unless they tell us, but I haven’t been too happy about the progress we’ve seen considering it’s almost shipping time.
I completely agree. I have been a supporter of Glowforge since day one (technically maybe day 2 or 3), but there has been a serious lack of communication recently. They haven’t demonstrated most features of the glowforge (pass thru, 3d engraving, raster engraving images, etc) and at this late stage, it leads me to believe that they won’t ship for at least another 6 months. I think that they know that as well. The excuse that we can’t show the features because all our video equipment was lost in the move, is a cop out in my opinion. Any cell phone will do! There also needs to be actual “updates”. Not little things hidden here and there on the forums. That’s not how you keep your customers “informed”. I have defended glowforge many times both in person and online over the past year about how the glowforge is not a “scam” or “vaporware”, but I dont think that I can continue to do that without more proof. We know everyone there is hard at work trying to ship on time, but I think that almost everyone here would understand a whole day of a delay if you were to spend that time updating and informing us, as well as showing what features currently work. Especially this close to shipping. Sorry for the long rant, I hope I didn’t come across as angry. I am just frustrated with the lack of communication these days.
There will be something like 10,000 shipped initially, which would give those who come after an opportunity to see what shipped and people’s satisfaction with them - affording the chance for a refund right up until they ask for your shipping address.
In around #6,000 in the queue, and I expect I will have enough time once they start delivering to determine if I am satisfied based on what those who received them earlier report.
I couldn’t agree more what haqnmaq said here, however, I believe that Glowforge should do their best to carefully respond to all the members’ “wishes” and inquiries from this community. Thus, I do hope that Glowforge could still keep up showing us more perspectives of applying this powerful invention. Any comments?
I can’t disagree with you.
It would go a long way to reassure us with something. I would love to see more functionality, but I would settle for something like “Just a final polishing of the production, we have determined shipping will definitely happen as projected.”
I have the same feeling in my gut that I had in May when a month out we still hadn’t heard a confirmation of any sort.
I am one of the biggest cheerleaders here, but that feeling in the pit of my stomach grows more pronounced as we close in on the end of the year.
I know many here share that feeling. I can’t help but wonder how the team and Dan feel with that impending (projected) shipping date sneaking up.
Well if things are looking gloomy they’re probably pulling out all stops and hoping that their luck will turn and they’ll see fewer problems with new features or quicker dev or fixes hoping to make December.
If things are going well they’re probably sitting back during coffee breaks and smiling big ass grins
I apologize for any lack of communication. Our perspective is probably skewed: we just spent a weekend taking five machines to two opposite coasts, doing many hundreds of prints and talking to thousands of people; livestreamed a 30 minute print, etc. That made us feel like we’d been doing a lot of communicating. Of course, if you weren’t there, it probably didn’t feel that way to you - so my apologies!
We’re now in a flat out sprint to finish all the work that needs to be done to hit our schedule. We’re continuing testing, scaling production, and fixing problems. Lots of problems. From things that don’t quite fit, to bugs, to outages, we want to vanquish as many problems as we can so that you have a great experience when your Glowforge arrives.
I do appreciate the feedback - will see about writing up a more formal update in the Announcements section this week.
That’s exactly it though, When you don’t update and communicate to your exiting customers that have been waiting so long all we see is your efforts in marketing to keep selling as much as a possible. Glowforge at MakerFaire was disappointing because it had nothing to do with us. We already bought in, we just want to see the progress.
Like others metioned here, I think we all want to know if:
Are we on track less than 2 months out? Surely from a hardware standpoint this should be pretty clear.
If the promised software features are not ready, would the hardware ship ?
Status of the software features - Some of them we’ve seen, but as multiple others pointed out, some of the cooler functionality that differentiates the GF from other lasers is still missing from any public demo.
I’m sorry it came across that way - I know that we had hundreds of customers come to see a Glowforge working in person. I can tell you first hand that the primary reason we’re there is to see all of you, and so that our customers could see firsthand what it could do.
As to selling new units… that’s something that we give very little thought or energy to right now.
We’re working hard to have all units by the end of December. I don’t know how to define “on track” because we’re never on track; one thing is going great while another catastrophe is being found and fixed.
It depends on the software feature, but likely so - for example, we wouldn’t hold up shipping on DXF import, since there’s a simple workaround. If that happened, we’d update the software later, for free.
True, and I know everyone would love to see demonstrations of everything, no matter the done-ness! But we aim to show features when they’re truly done, and some features are still getting polish (e.g. engraving).
