I’m not sure anyone is upset, other than roy. I’m mildly irritated by the hyperbole on both sides. This feels like a modern political debate, where nobody is willing to acknowledge any nuance: just take a position, dig in, and turn it to 11.
Also, the argument about cloud services and Glowforge being a connected machine that relies on a backend service and “turns into a brick” without it is just so tiring. It’s been done before and before and before an before and there is nothing new to say. Nothing. You take it or you leave it. Some of us even appreciate it. But regardless of how we feel, local firmware is not a thing and will never be a thing.
As for the rest, well, there are points on both sides. When we buy something that depends on a service to work, we are indeed at risk of losing access to that thing. And there are plenty of examples, including the several cited in this topic, of companies making real dumb moves. It’s not unreasonable to worry, and a Glowforge is a much more substantial investment than a home router. Perhaps Glowforge could do more to offer some reassurance to their customers.
But I draw the line there. I see all kinds of malice attributed to Glowforge that does not have any basis in fact. They could do this, they could do that, they could change the TOS to steal your cat. They have a pretty good track record of not doing any of that. All the stuff that worked when you bought your machine still works, and it even has some new features. All of these strawman arguments about how the terms could change to contain horrible things have no bearing on reality.
Two things which are true: terms of service have to change, and they do change all the time.
I have been on and managed software development teams at a variety of companies. It is absolutely out of the question for Glowforge to let you decline the updated agreement and keep using the old software. The maintenance and support costs for that would be enormous and unsustainable. So as they move the software forward and introduce new features, they are going to have to keep updating the terms. When it was introduced, there was no optional subscription service. There was no library of licensed artwork you could include in your designs. As the service evolves, the terms will have to keep up. Even if it doesn’t, there could be simple things like changing an address. “Just let me decline and keep using my machine” is not a choice in any rational universe.
The fact is, most companies just change the terms when they want and don’t put up an interstitial page. I just did a quick search of my e-mail and found dozens of examples, here are just a few. Note that they all say you accept the new terms if you use the service, otherwise you’re welcome to go away.
but I am concerned that “Fast Lane print prep” will eventually turn out to mean that everybody who doesn’t pay will experience slower service. Dan says that we’re actually getting faster service. Hope that’s true!