I doubt that’s true.
There are lots of people in this community who do not have GF units, and yet have lots to contribute.
There’s even a group of people, who dont have a GF, that are writing tutorials. Not because they are psychic, but because there are dozens of design tools available that are completely laser independent, that new laser users will have to learn in order to generate the files needed.
The “update to the update” fixed the situation. GlowForge isn’t going to require everyone to ship their units back as the initially announced, they will also send replacement tubes out to people who want to do the installation themselves. Life is good!
Calibration would, of course, need to be a part of the replacement process. It is on every other laser, for which people buy and install replacement tubes - it’s not insurmountable. If anything, the GlowForge having cameras could allow it to be somewhat self-calibrating, because they can see what’s going on and use that to make adjustments to position and focus, which laser cutters typically can’t do. So if their software is clever, calibration should be less of an issue for GlowForges than other laser cutters. I can’t think of any reason that use installed tubes would mean losing any GlowForge feature - it’s a tube from GlowForge, identical to the original, installed and calibrated according to their instructions, so it should be fine.
I think that now that GF reversed their decision, and has agreed to sell replacement tubes for field replacement, we’re in a great position. People who want things to “just work” can send their unit it and GF will take care of them. And people who are technically proficient can buy the part and install it and save time/money.
I am truly grateful for the posters here who offer their time and varied experiences to enhance the forums and improve the knowledge base. From pre-releasers to folks who own other types of lasers to engineers and designers and artists and great thinkers, I am truly impressed by all those who stepped in with ideas and possible solutions to make the tube replacement work, as well as offer information on a whole host of other issues surrounding the GF. You take the opportunity to try and be part of a solution, and I am grateful for the opportunity to read your offerings and learn from you. You make coming to the forums an enjoyable, interesting, exciting, and valuable experience. Thank you.
Bingo.
A friendly atmosphere encourages collaboration, sharing and giving.
I agree with Dan, he has the best customers!
I believe it’s 10k, but I’d have to check my notes. I think I gave the correct number (notes in front of me) on the forum another time, so please don’t quote me on this (or put it in the highlight, @jules 
)
This is a great point - we’ll have limited resources for teaching you how to use design software, but those skills are extremely helpful. There are lots of tutorials our awesome community members are creating to help with that!
(And there’s lots of tutorials out there for most design software already, but often times there are better and worse techniques when your goal is printing on your Glowforge)
I think Coleridge was talking about writing fiction.
Thanks. I’ve updated my OP.
I think one of the original posts from 2015 said 2000 hours
That’s what I remembered seeing as well, but I’m hoping @dan’s memory is better than mine as well as his understanding of his product. 
I have a question I don’t think I’ve seen the answer to anywhere. I ordered the basic unit… When the time comes that my unit needs a new laser can I upgrade it to the pro version?
I believe that @dan said it is not possible to upgrade a basic to a pro with just parts.
The tube and the slot are not workable as any upgrade.
I understand it’s not the whole upgrade, but maybe just the laser… Just curious…
The tube is different between the basic and the pro. I think the connections are a bit different, but I have not heard that as being confirmed.
I want to say there was something else beyond the slot.
The 45 watt tube will be slightly different dimensions and won’t be something you can cram in to the 40 watt “holster” for lack of a better word
This is sorta the case, and sorta not. In your case thats totally new tech with a lifespan in decades. These are tubes that the manufacturer has made close analogues of for quite a while and have much shorter life span. The tubes in the GF prob arent too far off from the others out there, and I know the manufacturer can employ the same techniques to make sure that longevity is somewhat consistent to their other offerings. So yeah, there could be some unforeseen hiccup that might cut the life in half, but its not intentional, and for the most part, they should have hopefully worked all those kinks out by shipment time.
Been a while since this post, but…
I felt like I’d seen official word somewhere but could remember where thanks
I know I was a bit wordy so I think you missed the part where I said that, basically, this is not new tech and the manufacturer has provided an estimate based on historical evidence. So, yeah, all I was saying is that we don’t know how long this tube will last, but we have an understanding of how long tubes last in general and have such an estimate and that needs to be good enough for now and there’s no reason to doubt that estimate.