As much as I admire all the folks at GF. We don’t have any information on reliability…uptime versus downtime, especially in a semi-commercial type use. I hope they are doing internal accelerated testing, but that may come later as they seem to be racing the clock to get us all our GFs. Perhaps the Beta testers will give some data on reliability. - Rich
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I’m all-in on my 40W for less than $700 for parts/materials. Time is another thing but since it was not time I’d be billing out, I can’t say “oh, I would have made $X if I hadn’t been tricking out the K40” - realistically I’d have been riding the bike or putzing around the house, not billing hours). 
Nowhere near the $5K I fronted for the GF. Capability isn’t that much different except I have no 1/4" pass thru slot or dependence on the Internet to run it. I do have 4" of Z-axis travel and a year of operations that I have been waiting on the GF for.
On the other hand, I’ve got no chance of support from the manufacturer if I ever needed it. I have to rely on the user groups and forums for help from other folks in the same position. There’s no GF-like forum though - you guys are much more usefully creative than the K40 forums (although there are some folks doing some really awesome stuff with their Chinese lasers). The GF’s larger bed will be helpful too.
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Still prefer DOS, and Mouse only when forced to! Long live the keyboard shortcuts!
Not as anti-touch screen, so it must be something specifically about the mouse I don’t care for, probably all of the run across the screen and dig through a menu crap. Need the sensitivity way down so you can get all the way across multiple high resolution monitors quickly, but need the sensitivity way UP so you can manipulate node positions accurately without zooming WAY in on a new design…
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Watching an application engineer for AutoCAD Inventor, he used the keyboard shortcuts and left mousers in the dust.
Compared to me mousing, his workflow was just that - like water flowing downhill.
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It’s the seamless integration between mouse and keyboard that really make the work flow smooth. Watching the videos on Lynda for Illustrator really… illustrate that fact!
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Something like this may be interesting for Illustrator users:
I know they also make them for Photoshop. Of course, with a glowforge, you could make your own!
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If you don’t game much on the PC you might not be aware, but this is a feature of many gaming mice. Buttons on the mouse let you rapidly increase and decrease the sensitivity, which lets you do exactly what you indicate without having to dig through any software to find the setting.
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Used to game, but not enough to invest in peripherals. I have often been tempted by gaming mice for the plethora of extra buttons… may have to seriously look at them if I can get buttons AND sensitivity toggles.
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