Since the GF UI/App resides on the cloud/external server what happens if the company goes bankrupt or out of business? Am I stuck with an expensive brick?
At some point an open source firmware is supposed to be released.
edit: maybe GPL?
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Yes.
Maybe.
If the cloud goes down, the machines won’t work. In the past, glowforge promised to release the… Thing that would make it possible for someone knowledgeable to rig it. But the rest of us would be left with fancy paper weights, dependent on those who, ya know, remember those terms and know what I’m trying to say.
And, of course, it depends primarily on glowforge releasing the secret password (or whatever it is).
So, I guess ultimately you have to trust that either a) they won’t collapse and disappear or b) will follow through on the promise to release the transcripts.
Full disclosure, I clearly have no idea what it is they promised to release. I would search the forums and post it for you, but I can’t even come up with the words to search for.
This is all very unhelpful, I realize.
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Essentially yes, with the hope of resurrection. As @scatterbrains said, they have promised firmware but that is not much. I would not be able to do anything with that on a thumb drive.
Our best hope would be that the remains would be bought and someone would host the now static software for a small monthly fee.
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Search for firmware and read up on two years of topics. Hope for the best and stay connected to folks who might reverse engineer everything before the apocalypse. The company will stay around for a while, I’d say at least three more years from investment resources. The product is good. Even without the complete feature set it’s a good deal. Still not sure what the market is for a laser like this but once you get one, you do things you never even imagined before. It’s just a great tool for precision work.
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Thanks, I was kinda hoping they would post an API or SDK so anyone could write their own interface for it but I think that the see value in locking everyone into their portal.
I think that while the hardware is game changer with the integrated cooling, and the filter may eventually allow lasers to be used in places that would otherwise not work, the positioning system, the motion control and laser control might have the greatest potential. It’s proprietary and might be what is of long term value for the company. I don’t want to sell short lots of the other features. Makes sense that they wouldn’t open it up.
Given the firmware and the hardware, I’d imagine folks would be able to recreate the magic from scratch, but how soon?
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It was promised to be on launch. Another broken promise but who would be surprised by that.
I’m personally okay with this for now. The firmware is just as the app software is: beta. It’s decent but not fully there yet and I’d rather the firmware they let loose be more of a rc than a beta.
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I don’t get tired of pointing out reality. People who are here regularly know that the firmware was promised to be released on launch to allay the fears of people worried about the cloud disappearing. The OP obviously didn’t.
If the comment is negative that is because of GF’s actions. If they had released it when production started then the answer to the OPs question would be positive.
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And then you’d be complaining how bad the beta firmware was. Let them commit to an RC and then proceed to lambasting them if there’s no release.
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If GF delivered what they promised when they promised it and it worked I don’t think anybody would be complaining. As it is the vast majority of posters complain because the vast majority don’t have machines. The positive posts come from a small vocal minority, so I don’t think that is normality. Most people don’t like being strung along with broken promises.
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I’ve deleted my post and other responses.
You’re right they’ve missed their dates. If you want to point it out every post, that’s fine. It’s my problem that I let that bother me. I just had a Spiro Agnew moment.
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As he Googles Spiro Agnew and is even more confused.
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It fits the entire internet! Every forum and comment section…
(note: this was in reply to a now deleted message, sorry that it makes no sense anymore in this context )
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Oh, I understood the reference. I remember Agnew as Governor of my home state. Ashamed to say that I voted for Nixon/Agnew as a least bad choice. Just thought it funny visualizing a Brit trying to figure out why you referenced a disgraced VP.
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Okay, you made me delete that one too 
I’m feeling particularly evil today.
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I wish you wouldn’t have deleted your messages, because now my reply and others look dumb and/or make no sense in context anymore.
@dan can you change the forums so that you can’t delete a message once it has replies? It’s a typical thing on many forums. Otherwise you end up with very odd threads where comments make no sense because someone deleted things that those comments replied to…
Oh come on, let’s have a little sport for a little while 
You were spot on though. I’m working on a plaque I’ll post in MOAG and link it back.
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this is why i quote for my replies.
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