Plug and pray… Like it. There is no acronym for quiet smile.
There is definitely an element of crossover in the capabilities of the 2 technologies, but each has a significant variety of functionality not available on the other machine. I don’t believe that either could be considered a superior alternative over the other for all applications. The optimal choice would be totally dependent on the intended use.
Of course, it’s always better to have both, economics permitting. 
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Maybe, but you’ll be able to make lots of really cool stuff!
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Now that @jkopel is posting and @takitus and @apix are demoing their Chinese machines, I feel pretty content to do this laser thing vicariously. I have to admit, that the way some posts are dissected, especially the few examples of Glowforge work, I feel pretty involved. Something like how soap operas or Monday morning quarterbacks function. The Silhouette Cameo I got isn’t used a whole lot yet, but next month my schedule will clear a little more for daytime crafting projects. Gathering materials and coming up with projects and designs is not small feat. I need to focus on one project and get that down so I can repeat ad infinitum. Something like @jacobturner’s Mother’s Day plaque but instead do it on matting with a square above to hold a picture. That will time me over and be a good learning experience
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Totally not another cutty-type machine, but Wacom cintiq. The video did the same thing to my stomach the first time I saw it as the glowforge video. Totally not glowforge competition except in my heart. And price. I got the cintiq a few years ago when that amount of money was a much bigger deal to me, so having to wait and save probably makes me much more attached to it than I would otherwise be.
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A Cintiq is on my dream list. While I think it would be great to have and could improve my workflow, I don’t see as much potential in it earning it’s keep like I hope the Glowforge will so it is a little further down the road for me.
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I’m sort of the opposite in that I didn’t even have a workflow until I got the cintiq, and I’m hoping the glowforge just makes project ideas I have in mind a little easier and more efficient.
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Its not a new toy wish but I just got back my recharged laser tube today. I found out the old one was barely running at half watts around 15. I’m now fully content to wait for my glowforge:grin:
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While not a Cintiq, I bought this from monoprice for my daughter and she loves it for cartooning and general doodling.
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The price is much nicer than the Cintiq. I had looked at this one from Huion. I have a Huion graphic tablet that works well for my needs and thought this might be a good next step since I can’t justify the cost of a Cintiq at this time.
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Look at KNK cutting machines as well.
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I recently decided to satisfy my lust for gear by getting a new 9.7" iPad Pro with Apple Pencil. I believe it compares favorably with the Cintiq. Using it with Procreate is something else–unbelievable! Now I just need to muster some artistic ability.
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We got my oldest son one for Christmas. Started looking at the small one and ended up with the desktop easel size with touch screen. One of his clients is a tattoo studio and he uses it to draw the artwork the needle guys ink on people. He loves it - replaced his Bamboo drawing tablet.
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I don’t have any other high tech toys that compete at the moment. As far as ordering something else, I love the idea of 3d printers, but can’t make them practical enough in my imagination to be more than something for me to play with. I also like the idea of a CNC machine, but I haven’t seen anything else out there that has been as inspirational as the GlowForge. Being able to use so many different materials and different ways of designing (or using pre-made designs) is exactly what will work for me. Since ordering one, I’ve looked in to getting something like a Cricut to sort of practice but, as far as I can tell, it won’t be a good fit for a Linux user. So, with all the patience of a preschool teacher, I wait. Also, I can’t spend any more money.
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Yeah, I’m up against that wall too!
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Oooh…me too! 
Bought the same duo a couple months ago. LOVE the Apple pencil. It works unlike any ‘stylus’ I’ve ever tried. And the huge screen on the pro is fantastic. I’m looking forward to being able to use it in conjunction with the Glowforge, which will be in a different room than my desktop computer.
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Nothing compares 2 U
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Right around the time my wife shown me the 'Forge demo video I was just buttoning up the CAD model the laser cutter I was going to build. But ultimately we picked the 'Forge for the ease of use. The optical registration, on-the-fly image vectoring and in some cases CAD-less/PC-less operation.
But with the delay, I think I am going to continue with that build. Mostly for a larger cut area and Z/Rotary support and more power.
I am also monitoring the SLA printers. I watched a video of a machine that used SLA on a metal powder to 3D print socket wrenches. That would be a dream.
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