Geez, was it that long? Time flies when you’re having fun!
You would do well too Curt, You have ‘a people personality’.
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I’m sure you’re not the only one who feels that way, I’ve seen other people mention that feeling as well.
That being said I actually find great comfort and joy in seeing those posts. It makes me happy to see the Glowforge units do what I hoped they would and that the software is working fairly well already. It also makes me happy to see the fun that the users are having with their units.
Would I like to have my unit now 110% yes, and yes I’m tired of waiting like everyone else. However in the meantime I’ll keep admiring and liking the projects that people are kind enough to post on this site.
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Right now, the plan is that the grant recipients who don’t have their Glowforge printers yet will receive a loaner Glowforge the month prior to the event, and then they will ship that Glowforge to the event.
BUT - things could change between now and then, and it’s also possible that we might deal with shipping to the event on an individual basis.
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Anyone interested in what would make for a worthwhile booth… @m_raynsford was at MFNY last year with a really simplistic booth (Pretty sure I remember that right). He had maybe a score of laser cut art pieces and trinkets, and a box full of nifty shark models as take-aways. And his website offers so many SVGs for use by others that you could surely populate a booth from those files and a few random Thingiverse downloads alone.
To all of those who think you cannot get in without already having a laser and a decade of experience… Maker Faire gives booths to 8 year olds who have worked with cardboard and scissors for a few months. Maker Faire is not about showcases the best of the best. It is about sharing a love for TRYING. Many people there adore the failures above the successes. Few there care to look at polished perfection.
Slap something together with craft foam. Submit for a booth because of a DIFFERENT passion you have which MAY be able to benefit in some manner from the Glowforge coming in to your life. @Kallisti had a booth in BAMF which was all about prop making, which she has done without a laser for a LONG time before this. She absolutely would have had a booth without having a Glowforge, but was able to ALSO show off the machine (and test how it handles being outdoors overnight for everyone).
Here is a shot of one booth from last year:
I don’t remember that display at all. But it sure is simple. Just a few trees with windchimes, some geodesic domes, and random acrylic people. You could do all of that with a box cutter. Call it a “tangible park design tool” and you have a booth concept. Congratulations you are a faux civil engineer, ready to lend your services to any township looking for a change.
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For simplistic booth read ‘Whatever I could fit in my suitcase and bring over from the UK’. I’m pretty tempted to apply though just so I can finally have a go on a glowforge. I’d probably be too distracted to talk to people.
More seriously I just bought the best things I’ve made over the last 5 years and I was enthusiastic about laser cutting. Jacob is totally right it doesn’t really matter what you’re showing as long as you’re passionate about it.
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Really good to know. I feel like I’m in this same boat. I have been told I have an eye for design, and I fell like I do, but like you mentioned, I don’t have any experience in making the files to use. I was considering using Lynda.com to learn Illustrator or something like that, and you posting this has pretty much convinced me that would be a good route to go. Thanks!
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Is it possible that we just travel ourselves and leave our glowfirge at home, and just get one from you guys who have superior capacity to travel them?
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I really wish people wouldn’t flag comments just because they don’t like the viewpoint being shared. The posts being flagged don’t seem to fit the requirements for flagging IMO. They’re just coming from a negative perspective. This really shouldn’t surprise people but not everyone agrees with you. I like the idea of helping to prop up the dreams of the community through grants but I would prefer it be something that happens when much more units have already shipped. Many may see it as a positive thing but not everyone does. Personally, I’m in the camp of people who are annoyed that its happening now, when so many people still don’t have their glowforges. I know they are offering loaners but, to me, that further frustrates the situation because theoretically that’s a machine that could go to a purchaser as their final product.
Sure, the grant money wouldnt make much of a dent in helping the production move faster, but IMO it still represents resources and energy being directed in other directions rather than fulfilling the obligations of sending the product. With so many delays, that should get nearly all the energy/focus.
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If you look back through the replies I think you might notice that some of the quotes are of replies that no longer exist, they were removed.
Because the poster was offensive and rude (beyond their remaining posts).
If you’re offensive enough, often enough, people are no longer interested in what you have to say.
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i’m not sure that argument holds up, though. are they supposed to not encourage (with financial support) people to bring their product to a maker faire because it’s inconvenient for those who haven’t received it yet? it’s not like they can ask the maker faire to reschedule to later this fall when more people have their glowforge. nor do i think it’s realistic to wait until 2018.
it’s unfortunate that many people don’t have their GFs yet, but it is what it is.
as far as the energy / resources going toward this, these are marketing people/dollars. adding a marketing person to the production process won’t make it happen faster. that’s not how marketing people work (i say that as a marketing person, asking me to help out with designing a hospital at my architecture firm will not be a good use of resources and will not make the building get designed/built any faster).
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I saw that. I can only judge based on the quoted sections. Which do not seem offensive or flag worthy. Its possible there were more offensive portions, but I doubt that people would avoid quoting the most egregious and offensive piece of the comment.
Out of curiosity, why are some comments actually removed and others simply hidden? Some of the comment trees are actually still there but obviously flagged (needlessly in my opinion), which was the purpose of my post in the first place.
Also, if its actually offensive in some way, then I understand, but “people are no longer interested in what you have to say.” is an abuse of the flagging system. I don’t believe it exists to weed out things you’re tired of or dont like.
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That’s the thing, while it might hurt your feelings it will not make ANY difference in delivering our 
none of your or mine money will be used, no programmers will be pulled off to work on this. So ultimately, this is a good thing as if you are thinking, you want to succeed and this is an element in that success.
It was actually offensive.
I should have said something more along the lines of “you discredit your own argument
and therefore people are no longer interested in what you have to say”.
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Hi Bailey! I really appreciate the opportunity Glowforge is extending to customers here, and since I am only 100 miles from NYC, it would be relatively convenient for em to participate in the Faire.
However! (You knew there’d be a "however, right? lol) I don’t have my Glowforge yet and I would be very uncomfortable demoing and presenting and answering questions about it if I’d only had a loaner to work with for a few weeks. I believe I would be doing both the product and myself a disservice.
So I will regretfully decline this very generous offer. But I do hope your company will consider continuing such support in the future, as I would be very happy to participate–once I knew what I was doing!
Thanks again.
Steve
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They dont actually have to participate at all. They are choosing to direct money and resources to it. Im simply saying that to some people, the idea of directing attention to something else when there is a glaring issue that still needs work (the missed deadlines) is annoying and discouraging.
Also, Im not just talking about the actual, physical use of resources, Im also talking about the perception of that use. As I said with the money, it may not do much if it were redirected to production. The manpower may not make much of an impact either. But it does hurt the perception of priorities. Someone like myself looks at this as a lack of urgency and misplaced priorities. This sort of thing may not matter in many cases, but this far down the line, with this many delays, it matters now.
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I avoided it. I didn’t/don’t see the sense of regurgitating the vitriol if I don’t have too.
Please don’t quote me on this but the flagging process originates with a forum member flagging a post, after several flags (quantity unknown to me) the system will hide the post. In the meantime, the administrators of the site (staff) are notified of a post that has been flagged and that post receives manual review.
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I understand that, but that still wouldn’t justify flagging it. It would justify ignoring the post.
i think they’re far more concerned with perception in the bigger picture (i.e., a stronger presence at maker faire) than they are that some people here on their message boards will perceive that they have misplaced priorities are a lack of urgency.
and if i was in their place, i’d probably feel the same way. their long-term business is much bigger than the people who will be upset by this move. and the people who they will engage with at maker faire are their mid-term and long-term markets.
i’m not trying to dismiss the unhappiness here, but really, i think it’s misplaced venting. especially since, as you yourself admit, it’s mostly perception and not reality as this is unlikely to have any effect on actual delivery dates.
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Avoiding it is a good practice and im sure some might. I just think most of the time there is someone who will quote it if there is something actually offensive.
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