Not in anyone place. It’s in a dozen different places in the forum and some info from videos that were linked to this forum. About a month ago they posted that the third iteration of prototype plastics had arrived for evaluation. They’ve clearly gone through several iterations of the control boards since the beginning of pre-order. There have been GF posts about how the current boards with USB and Ethernet connections (probably needed for testing) were not the ones that would eventually be in production. The demos that we have seen in the videos were prototype units with Frankenstein boards. In one very recent video Dan comments about Eva making changes to a camera control circuit board. It’s been posted several times that the power supplies were not yet approved and how hard that was to do. I think the power supplies are the primary reason why the laser tubes do not yet have variable power control. Bunch of other stuff. Lots of posts about S/W features yet to be completed. Yes it would be nice to have all the info under one link or in the FAQ. But I understand that the company has to walk a fine line on information. I’ve seen companies try to be too open and have it backfire when an insignificant disclosure blows up unnecessarily on the boards. Thanks for not taking my post the wrong way. Many people will read a post depending on their own particular mood at the time.
@rpegg, thanks. I agree, and I apologize if my attempt to keep the conversation “nice” came off as hostile in and of itself.
There are many posts scattered about the forum alluding to the current state of development. I suppose this is a natural outcome of Dan’s activities in the forum system.
Here are few that I found where he speaks either directly or indirectly to the issue(s).
A big thanks to @jkopel and @rpegg. Very helpful. Looks like I may just need to start looking at a LOT more posts, instead of just a few here and there.
no worries - think everyone on here is just trying to help. i know i for sure didnt show my best side during this thread but that was my intention. tone of voice is such a hard thing to communicate some times!
Just went back over most of Dan’s comments to this board. He has posted 150 times in the past 3 weeks (end of pre-order) almost 700 times in total. Although project status is rarely discussed there is actually quite a lot of info about what works, what doesn’t (yet), plans and shipping schedule. Takes some work to collate the comments. But what else are you going to do while waiting?
this video of Dan really sold me. Made the decision based on personal affinity rather than logical calc. But to take the personal into the logical: click on @dan or his profile picture. His user profile comes up. All the topics and replies and posts are all there in list form. Yes, some collating, curating and indexing would be helpful. But a www.discourse.org powered forum makes it easy. Folks might be or might not be familiar with these feature. Thanks @rpegg for making me think this through. Also it is very fun to go through their twitter stream to get a great perspective. I assumed when I ordered that if a product didn’t ship, the initial round of investing would cover development and I would get a refund. Maybe not. I put the notion of paying upfront before a confirmed delivery date as a risk. However, back to the original post: more pics from laser Thursday would be cool. I would like some regular updates as to development and finalizing. But don’t think we are going to get it in a structured way. I find myself wanting to make excuses for GF because I think the best of them. I’m curious at how production costs are going to impact later sales. The idea is of a low-cost 3D laser printer might hit reality. But that low cost is relative. I think of all the 4-wheelers folks have around here in Missouri I’m the odd one out not having one. It’s seen as an essential tool for anyone who spends anytime outdoors. Can’t really touch them with the features you want for under $7,000.
The math says we’re pretty safe for at least a year. The initial round of funding was expected to hold the company for 2 years (I personally believe a little less). And although their approach is innovative, there is nothing requiring new technologies so it will be just a matter of time. The only way the initial pre-orders would be at risk is if someone absconded with all the funds and say flew off to Tanzania. Oops! 
Whatever you say, you give me 30 million and I will assign someone specifically to keeping the PR going, youtube videos, vlog, and personal insights of the team members etc. Serious do you know how much more business can be generated that way? If I was Dan I wouldn’t actually be commenting unless it was very important, the mom and pop feel of a project this big could only have negative impacts on professionalism. Wasting time commenting means less time invested in the actual process of delivery which is of the greatest importance. If you are new to business none of this comes to mind. Consumers are not generally business owners so such things don’t even dawn on them. That is why you have so few novices that remain in business over time before some shark literally eats them.
As you have correctly observed:
- We are not spending the money you spent on your preorder on PR people
- We are not spending the money you spent on your preorder on generating more preorders
- Many of us here at Glowforge, myself included, pride ourselves on being moms and pops and letting that show through in everything we do
- Professionalism is very much not a goal for us
The only thing we disagree upon is that I do not, at this time, fear being literally eaten by a shark.
Ha! Love it! Okay Dan all the best with this new business model, the moment those Glowforge’s start shipping its clear it will revolutionize many industries. All the best.
Thanks for the good humor, @Tron. 
We’re actually staffing up as quickly as we can, but the team here is so darn good and the work is so challenging that it can be hard finding the right people.
I bought into this product knowing that all of the pre orders are to be delivered by June 2016. I have to admit that Dans reply though was a little disappointing in that it could have been phrased in the same consistency that his sales pitch was made. It really gives me second thoughts about my pre order.
I’m not sure which answer you mean, but if you’re having second thoughts, we’ll get you refunded posthaste - just send an email to support@glowforge.com and let us know.
Sorry my earlier reply was not clear as to where it came from, It was regarding us customers getting updates about how the production was coming along( "State of the Union " question) and how your reply to it was not consistent with the companies brand. Reading back on the question and your reply, I can see how your answer of “No” could have very well been for the the final part of the question which is “…have some shipped out for testing …etc?” To add to that bit of tension in the exchange we read the end of your reply “I’m not so good at scheduling stuff.” and it creates double negative of sorts.
Speaking for myself and how I viewed your answer to the question: Money is very tight for me so to read a double negative from a CEO of a company with an amazing product was just very unsettling. Just like investors, consumers who prepay get worried about the slightest things too.
We are still human when it comes down to finances, some of us worry some of us don’t.
I appreciate and thank you for your swift reply Dan.
Tell me about it, finding good honest workers that are in for the long haul these days seems to be a thing of the past. I guess what has to be considered by everyone is that with today’s powerful automations once the prototype is solid which it seems you are near that point, its not like you guys will be creating 11,000+ Glowforge’s from the corporate office anyway so even if its a small tight team if all the positions necessary are filled than who needs tons of people creating more overhead and social issues. All the best!
Thanks folks. We’re actually hiring right now - not because we don’t have the people we need to deliver, but because we can make it even better by bringing in great folks. While we may add another community or marketing person, it’s our investors’ money that pays for that, not the preorder funds.
You never tell any one that gives you money for a preorder this… lol
I’ve been checking the GF Facebook page every now and then, and it’s been dead quiet pretty much since the 50% off preorder ended. Which is the first thing that worried me. A few updates from a very busy crew would be great, and is expected. Total radio silence? That can’t ever be a good thing.
The second thing that worried me, upon digging into the forums here and finding this post (btw, not easy to find info on how to register for the forums, as there was never an email sent with this info), was Dan’s reply about not being good at scheduled things. That makes sense, as a ton of people invested a ton of money under the impression that their purchase would ship in December–and now June, or even September…but there’s no real estimate; hasn’t been one yet, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is something that continues to be vague.
The third thing, and a BIG RED FLAG, was Dan’s statement that “Professionalism is very much not a goal for us”. Um. What? I don’t ever, ever, ever want to hear that from someone I just sent $4,000 to. That scares the hell out of me. Professionalism isn’t a goal?? Dude, I get that you’re busting your tail to get this product up and running smoothly, but with 30 million bucks and a TON of investors/semi-investors/purchasers/customers/whatever-professionalism should DEFINITELY be a goal.
You, or your team, should be working hard to instill a very strong sense of confidence in the people that just funded your company, not telling them that you’re not good at scheduling things and that professionalism isn’t a big deal to you. I’m not running this company, so I’m speaking only from the perspective of someone who is VERY excited about this product, but also VERY nervous about forking over so much money to people who are kinda seeming lackadaisical about the whole customer relations thing.
Can everyone be positive!! I interpreted “Professionalism is very much not a goal for us” to imply that they already have lots of professionalism, therefore they don’t have to strive for it. Dan has already had a successful kick starter project a couple of years ago, therefore vastly more experienced than most about running a project.
Also reading from the Glowforge Blog https://glowforge.com/blog/glowforge-completed-its-series-a-with-an-investor-we-never-met/ shows the level of detail and behind the scenes machinations that went in to establishing Glowforge, and it gives me confidence.
If you’re having doubts, pull your money and run - just don’t spread your negative poison.
The official published delivery plan has never, never, never changed from day one. I know because I bought one in the first 9 hours and read “When Will My GF Ship” in the FAQ before placing the order. Total radio silence? It’s just possible that the project status has not passed any new milestones worthy of official announcement. Even so, there have been 150+ comments and posts on this board from the CEO in the past 3 weeks. The GF team gets blasted for real person comments then they get blasted for not providing enough info. Can’t have it both ways. Now I am certainly not a GF groupie. I tend to be realist, some say cynic, and I expect future disappointments. Hope not. But the continual reading between the lines from folks, to hear what has never been said, to spin words in a manner that is always negative just escapes my reason. I don’t mean this post to seem personal, it’s not. I’m just hoping more of our future posts are questions or constructive information.