Well if we’re voting publicly 2.5d relief is at the top of my list! No one uses DXF… 
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well I can’t even spell DXF, but if we could just get that lid cam turned around for the incriminating selfie of me not getting any productive work done…
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That’s all I will use. My CAD parts to DXF to GF.
Again, none of us really care about what the others want so long as we get our most important features.
I do. It’s all that’s consistent between all the lasers I’m using. They all support some different formats but the one they all support is DXF. Being an old standard helps sometimes.
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Just a heads up: we’re randomly selecting some backers and emailing them a copy of the survey. That’s because we want to get a sense of how our favorite customers (you all in the forum) compare to the silent masses who don’t hang out here. To improve the response rate, we’re offering an Amazon gift certificate to those randomly chosen people (and only them).
If you get an email invitation to take the survey, take it again. You’re eligible, same as anyone else who gets it! But you only get the gift certificate if you fill it out from the magical email link.
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This is actually an excellent technique dan is implementing here. Seeing if the “forum active” Glowforge purchasers are representative of the entire population. Kinda testing the leanings of the vocal minority as it were. I doubt we will have the opportunity to see the comparison of the survey results, active users vs. inactive users, but it would be interesting.
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Make sure we get statistics on that survey. I would love to see what everyone is saying.
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Not wanting to poke the bear or have any trade secrets given away, or have the Kool-Aid contingent vote to have me burned at the stake,
But. . . . . . .
Given @dan 's comment (and the big survey), would it be too unreasonable for the team to consider providing a Glowforge “features” schedule detailing anticipated availability timing and update it as changes materialize?
Just to keep we in CrowdVille distracted and from getting too restless. Can’t see that it does anything more than have the GF owner energy up with the “oh, look, my favourite features are scheduled to be available by December 2016! Woo Hoo! ! !”.
Something along this line. . . . .
Or is this just crazy talk. . . . 
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You should not have to state these things… 
The kool-aid contingency is ALWAYS going to jump on anyone who has an opinion different than theirs, and you should know that just as many people (as the drinkers) have the same opinions/questions/concerns that you do. I say “thanks” for putting it out there, for the silent types.
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BURN!! 
It would be nice to fill in some of the blanks…
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Given past history, a more reasonable ask would be a list of planned features for the first deliveries and then maybe a short list of priority features past that. Not going to see dates associated with any capabilities, unless the company is completely changing how the information is to be released.
BTW: And if you disagree then too bad. The topic title actually says they need my opinion. 
edit: and as I expected…
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Generally speaking we announce things that are done, not things that are forthcoming. I’ve written about this before, but in short, the time to communicate a public schedule is far more than you’d think (“just publish it!”), and comes at the expense of actually doing the work.
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BTW added ‘spoiler’ tags to your post because casual passers-by might mistake your example for an actual schedule.
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Actually had to look that one up to see what it was.
That’s traditionally how I do it for software deliveries. Too many unknowns and a day’s slip sets people atwitter. I only relent when it’s for a specific client project and they need something fairly firm for training, implementation or other purposes. But they pay me for that date
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This is called a product roadmap, and it’s not the kind of thing that companies make public. Because no matter how many times you use the words “anticipated”, “targeted”, “slated”, “expected”, etc., if you have to slip your dates you will get lots of negative press and negative customer sentiment. (I know because I write product roadmaps and customer use cases for a living.)
The most we’re likely to get is “here are the things we’re working on for a future release.” I’m thrilled that Glowforge is actually asking us customers what we’re most excited about using; too often that step gets skipped in favor of a PM or developer’s vision that may not jive with reality. Developing a product is all about tradoffs and data that helps guide which tradeoffs you make is invaluable.
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At least everything looks one step closer.
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So wrt the features either software features outlined on the Glowforge website or in the Glowforge promo video (which btw could easily be interpreted to imply there is a warehouse full of GF’s just waiting for the delivery van) you would find it is acceptable for the company to ship you a unit with 8 of 100 of the promised features implemented and no indication when the other functionality will be released or even if it ever will? Seriously? “Negative Press”? Everyone understands why a company would want to avoid that. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it can always be unwarranted?
There was no issue talking about the hardware woes and new direction (e.g. power supply, Pacific Rim manufacturing, packaging). I don’t see how the software is any different. It’s not like there is some hidden awesome, “flight to mars” capability that has not been promised that I am interested in. No, I’m not even the least bit curious about anything that is planned for the future or coming down the pipe that has not been disclosed, just what the promo materials talked about. I want to be excited from time to time between now and delivery via updates about functionality that has presented a challenge, but was overcome. We mechanic/nerds get excited about the techy stuff vs the wonderfully artistic plans another user is looking forward to. A primary objective of a “pre-delivery” forum is to keep the level of enthusiasm high. The same type of thread won’t accomplish that for every type of user.
Again, I am on this train until it either arrives safely in the station or runs out of control over the edge of the cliff. I’m not a schmooze guy, I’m a mechanic, I’m ISTJ all day every day.
BTW, I was more than content to leave this topic to die after @dan piped in with the company position, but as soon as someone feels obliged to pile on and explain to me how uninformed my thought process is, well I just got to be me. . . Unlikely to change now.
No doubt going to get a flag or tag for this OpEd.
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Seemed like a generic discussion and not personally directed in any way. And don’t see anything in your response that comes close to a flag.
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OK, I changed “stupid” to “uninformed”. My love for techy stuff puts my dog in this race. Thirty years ago, I would have seen the fully functioning final version Glowforge on the shelf at Radio Shack and would have put it in my shopping cart. Today, you have the internet. It makes disbursing information about opportunities like the Glowforge an unbelievably powerful tool. However, it’s a double edged sword as the internet has trained us all (even old[ish] farts like me) to expect instant gratification and instantaneous response times.
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