We’ll finalize the plans next month, but here’s what we have in mind.
The beta units are units that we will repossess because we know we can make them better. The pre-release units may have small differences from production units - they may get a more thorough inspection, use parts from a different wholesale supplier, etc - but we think they’re as good as production units will be.
If we do make a change before moving to production that we think will improve quality, though, we’ll offer to replace them with production units at no cost.
If you want one, fill out the beta application. If you don’t want one, don’t worry - you’ll have a chance to defer for a full production unit if you’re next in line.
Music to my ears.
Looks like our belief in your effort it will pay off, selling for considerably more than we paid for it.
For me, my own personal laser at this price was a dream realized.
Thank you for that opportunity Dan!.. And salute to the team for making this all it can be.
Thank you for this update! I know that it’s time consuming, and that you have to be very careful about what you choose to share and how you phrase it … but it’s definitely worth the effort. These periodic check ins really help to maintain trust and interest.
If you only start shipping pre-release units at the end of November I don’t see how there is time for people to receive them and give feedback to allow production of thousands of units in December. The end of November is the start of December, so can we already know that the December shipping target will not be met?
“If you want one, fill out the beta application6. If you don’t want one, don’t worry - you’ll have a chance to defer for a full production unit if you’re next in line.”
Do you gamble and accept a “Pre Release unit” or risk waiting for who knows how long for a official production unit?
If you opt out and there are no issues how long will you now have to wait because of all the people behind you opted in?
Dan,
If we get a “pre-release unit” and it has issues to the point where you must replace it with a production unit can we opt for a refund instead?
I don’t believe they’re looking for public feedback on the pre-release units before moving to production. I get the impression that everyone who applied for a beta (US) will get a pre-release unit. The line will be going to full production for the pre release units and they’ll be doing any last minute tweaks to small things like torque settings, screw manufacturers etc… But only if necessary. This will be based on feedback from the manufacturer. If nothing needed they’ll be identical to the actual production models. So I view it as full production ramping up end of November. I’m one of first in line so I’m good with waiting the extra week is my guess.
The end of November is the start of December, so can we already know that the December shipping target will not be met?
I suppose it’s possible to very quickly know if the release candidate is actually ready for release. But that means any bump, the smallest of pebbles in the road, blows the timeline. It’s silly to try and be so specific. Under-promise, over-deliver. Set those expectations and nobody’s going to complain. If they’d said January and ended up shipping in December, everybody’d cheer. The other way around, they risk losing customers.
Geordi La Forge: Yeah, well, I told the Captain I’d have this analysis done in an hour.
Scotty: How long will it really take?
Geordi La Forge: An hour!
Scotty: Oh, you didn’t tell him how long it would ‘really’ take, did ya?
Geordi La Forge: Well, of course I did.
Scotty: Oh, laddie. You’ve got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker.
Dan just sent out an open invitation for anyone to jump to the front of the line by applying to the beta program and accepting a “pre-release” If it’s so close to being production ready don’t you think it will affect the delivery date of your production ready pre-order when so many others opted for the pre-release? If I order one today and apply for the “pre-release” am I getting it before you get your pre-order?
Nope I don’t think it will materially effect delivery of my pre-order. No if you ordered before the October cutoff, live in the US, and applied for a Beta then yes I believe you’ll get it before me and I’m completely ok with that. I don’t have time to do the math but I bet they’ll be manufacturing more units in two-three days then there are Beta Unit applicants. I ordered on day one so let’s say they’re really slow and mine get’s manufactured on day five. I’m ok with waiting an extra five days.
There has been a fair amount of discussion about potential Christmas presents from UPS (or whoever the shipping carrier is) in the forums. It looks from here that January is the actual target for “in our hands”. Not to be a Debbie-downer but in my experience with initial product ship, I’ve never seen a shipping month target be the 1st of that month Shipping on New Years Eve will allow victory to be declared but obviously doesn’t match the expectations that have been developing in the forum.
The good news is that our families will likely have our undivided attention and not need to compete with our new toys over the holidays
Cool. Thanks for the update. Can’t agree with you more @Dan about getting the employees out to meet the users; nothing puts an inspiration on your job than meeting the fruits of your labor. Don’t stop doing it once you are in full production… I can’t tell you also the number of times I met with a team member of some product I used, and either learned some fascinating feature of it, solution to a problem I had or reverse I told them of an issue that they had no idea of which they were able to take back and improve their product.
Love that the picture of the booth at Maker Faire NYC with Will Smith is shot between my son on the left and me on the right, with my job cooking away in the glowforge at the bottom!
Shipping on New Years Eve will allow victory to be declared but obviously doesn’t match the expectations that have been developing in the forum.
