Is the absence of DXF in either the “Done” or “To do” narratives a subtle way of saying the “DXF to GF” direct feature from the original promotional material may no longer be in the plan for the final product @ dan?
…edit…
Oops, missed the "To do: . . . Add support for many more file types. "
Thanks @Jules! 
Great update & status in one 
I’ve bookmarked it so I have a place to find the bonuses easier - I’m going to have to make up a keystroke-cheatsheet to keep track of the cool things key combos can do.
Nice approach on the Pre-release program. Reminds me of GM’s EV-1. They retained ownership of the car as it was being put through its paces giving them a lot of flexibility while reducing issues/concerns for buyers (just hope GFs don’t suffer the same fate ).
I don’t expect the lack of air filter will impact most - until now a hose through a window was pretty much the only choice (I made an acrylic insert for mine when I first got into lasers - probably took longer to measure & design than it did to cut & install).
It’s good to see that the To-Dos are software related. The wonderful world of software says all those features to come can likely be delivered over the air - a huge vindication of the cloud model. Gotta love it.
Kudos to all 
I choose to look at this as a good thing. It means the units are progressing and that the company has given us an update as to which capabilities are ready and which are not. Pre-release units are the final step before production. Not sure how many pre-release units are going out the door but for those lucky enough to receive and evaluate they essentially are getting a loaner on the company dime. No loss of warranty on a future unit. We already knew the Pro S/W wasn’t ready so the folks that need a Pro for a specific use case are justifiably disappointed but it doesn’t mean the Pros aren’t very close. Full production is a lot closer today.
waits for email patiently
Ditto about the filter. But neither is a showstopper since there’s not been a unit with the Pro feature available to build a business on yet (from GF anyway) and the filter issue has a workaround and was communicated months ago.
And he beat the announcement prediction by two days 
(three for those of you who don’t sleep)
These are not typos with the exception of the bed width. Should read 18" X 20.4". And this is mostly good news. Long discussions with Dan last night about the specs, reasons and effect.
@dan “All you need is a standard household outlet (120 volts, 15 amps, with 800 watts of available power) to use your Glowforge.”
Hopefully the 120 volts is a pre-release (US only) restriction and there are no issues with supporting 240 volts for final production units?
If I got this letter, i would hug the mailman.
Looking forward to putting this machine through the ringer. A pre-release would have been good so I could beat it up.
Thanks for the update.
I recall a very old post saying DXF conversion was tricky (I took it to mean not all dxf files are created equally.) It wouldn’t be the first time a standard was implemented as a guideline by software manufacturers.
Waits for email impatiently. 
DXF is an old standard so there are many official iterations out there as well as lots of opportunities for individual implementations to drift. For one of my lasers I have to use the 2000 version of Adobe’s DXF to have it come out right.
Not different for SVG by the way. Inkscape’s SVG is not the same as the standard SVG (be careful which you pick when exporting/saving). I operate in AI and Corel normally but teach laser & design classes using Inkscape and the interchange format version is the first thing I tell students to check if the CAM software doesn’t show the same result as the CAD software.
(climbing the walls)
I think the important question regarding the PRO’s…is simply, will they ship in December? Because based off of Dan’s message, it looks as though they don’t even have the hardware CLOSE to ready.
That’s a HUGE problem. Considering those of us who purchased the Pro did so at a much higher cost than the basic users.
Don’t think so…there’s this in the letter:
Done: SVG, PDF, PNG, and JPG compatibility. Print
from any major browser on desktop. Some tablet and phone support.
Convert most file types to be compatible with Glowforge software with
Inkscape.
To do: Bugs on tablet & mobile. Add support for many more file types.
I don’t see where that’s implied at all. He doesn’t address that at all. If 80% of the orders were Basics and 90% of the parts were common between the two and the software isn’t ready to support the Pro’s pass-thru slot (previously communicated that it would come after delivery), then it makes perfect sense to use Basics for the Pre-release. So there’s no real basis to infer anything from there not being any Pros in the pre-release.
Unless I’m missing something, @Dan didn’t say, nor imply and we can’t infer that the Pro hardware is not ready. (Yes, I’m a Pro buyer too.)
He said the pro hardware is “not released yet”. That indicates to me that the pro’s are not ready period. Regardless of the “pre-release” or the real launch. We’re technically at MOST only 30 days from actual shipping.
Which means they still need to be manufactured. Pro’s shipping this year don’t sound plausible at this point in the game.
Basics aren’t released yet either. There’s a pre-release of Basics coming but that’s not the same as inferring Pros are somehow not in the manufacturing pipeline too.
Regardless, I think the year end is in jeopardy for both Basic and Pro units - there’s just not enough time to do what seems to need to be done for any real volume shipping.
I’m so excited to hear that all the features I have been looking forward to are working now! Please send a laser my way 
That’s kinda the way things seem. I guess we’ll know better Friday.
I’m going to paraphrase what @dan has told us on the forum to save time:
The Pro units will ship at roughly the same time as the Basics, but they might not have full Pro functionality at the time that they ship.
The alignment software might not be ready by then…that’s what allows you to feed in large sheets of material and continue the design across the full sheet of material.
For those who ordered a Pro unit, you will have an option of:
If you decide to accept the delivery, you will still have a more powerful machine than the Basics that are shipping, with improved cooling and speed. You will just not be able to do the big stuff right away.
Does that help? 