I spent $6,000 on a pro model. Make no mistake, I appreciate the added speed, power and the passthrough.
I use the passthrough like crazy.
However… the server is slowwwwwww.
The idea that Pro Owners should have to pay the same $50 a month for the premium servers as someone that paid one third the price for a basic, is ridiculous to me.
I have absolutely no use for any of the other “features” that are included in that monthly stroke.
All I want is the faster server. I feel like I’ve been duped.
Had I known this was going to be the case when I made my purchase a year ago, I may have gone another direction.
I’d like to know how this is justified, and would appreciate this supposed “value” enumerated to someone that has already paid a ton of money for the machine and supposedly included service.
Premium is a completely separate service from the laser. It’s like saying you bought a gaming PC so you should get everything that Blizzard releases for cheaper because you paid so much money up front. The argument is baseless despite the fact that in this case the company that releases both is the same.
Not sure what you mean by “servers”. The only thing Premium does it make the design go from your computer to your faster (between hitting print and the white button glowing). Unless you’re doing crazy complicated things you’re unlikely to even notice the difference. I have Premium and it took me longer to walk from my computer to my than it did for the button to turn on before that existed.
Premium is currently focused on people who sell stuff and aren’t good at designing from scratch. The bonuses for that group are enumerated in multiple places in the forum - go do a search.
You’re correct when you say you’re not sure what I mean…
However, I can say with confidence that the standard servers are significantly slower. How do I know? Because from the time I received my Glowforge Pro, I was on the faster servers, until they launched the new premium service, at which time, I was told I could have all these “amazing” benefits that I don’t need… for more money.
The only thing I need is a faster server.
There is a good chance that I am in fact creating more intricate and detailed files than most.
The slower servers have drastically slowed the amount of time it takes to open the files, let alone send them to print.
This is tantamount to a bait and switch.
I’m not really concerned with what other users think. I would like to know what the company has to say.
It sounds like you need to clear your cache. The ONLY thing the premium service speeds up is the processing time—the time between when you click the print button and the button on the laser starts flashing.
It’s not a browser issue. I’ve been using the same browser, computer, internet connection and all other components are the same.
There was a night and day difference when they took the faster server away. I’ve just finally had enough…
I started a topic, because it might be helpful to others to see a response from Glowforge.
Informed community input is always welcome. Suggesting I don’t know what I’m talking about is not informed input.
Thanks geek2nurse… I’ll clear my cache and perhaps that will help… my complaint still stands… and I still would like a response from Glowforge.
If you follow the press releases, they have upgraded the base servers since you purchased your unit.
I guess a good example is that they just came out with 1Gbps internet here, however my 150Mbps went to 200Mbps shortly before they announced that… Just because I am not paying for the upgrade in service to 1Gbps does not mean my 200Mbps got slower.
Yes again my example, If I was using 1Gpbs for a few months and had to go back to 200Mbps I would say I noticed a difference, however its still faster than the 150Mbps that I started with…
I understand your point… however, I had the fast server from the day I set up the pro. It was “included” until they launched the premium. And it is a huge difference.
I don’t think the premium services were around a year ago. In the past year, actually much less they have upgraded the base servers, then just recently they added the even faster premium servers.
We’re not trying to be obstinate. We’re long-time users and have had both speeds, and know the difference, and it’s really barely noticeable. Honest!
If your UI is slow, clearing the cache almost always fixes it. If it doesn’t, Support may want you to go to whatismybrowser.com and grab the link there with your browser info for them to take a look at. You can get a head start by going ahead and doing that.
Yeah I guess it needs to be explained better but the “premium” is only the time between clicking Print and the light flashing on the GF. Everything else is all the same speed whatever level you have. The planning of the head movement is the task thats run on faster machines, and this is just as I said that short time after you click print to when its ready to go on the GF.
What @DaveL said; the faster servers only come into play after you hit the print button and has nothing to do with how quickly your design opens or how fast the laser head travels. Experiencing a lag with opening designs is a real thing though and we can point you to things that can help clear it up.
At the time you received your Glowforge Pro, the faster processing server pool had yet to be created – it was months before they even started beta testing the feature. You were never on a faster server then downgraded to a slower one. That simply didn’t happen.
Echoing what’s already been said, the “Fast Lane” feature of Glowforge Premium refers to only one thing:
When you press the “print” button, your design is uploaded to the Google Cloud where software running on a virtual server converts it into a movement plan for your laser. If you have Glowforge Premium, the server pool that takes the job are of an instance type with more compute resources than the standard pool. However, processing a design into a movement plan typically takes less than a minute, so the difference between the two pools is usually just seconds. The feature is mostly a gimmick, easily the least valuable part of the subscription.
You’ve complained about upload/rendering speeds, which have nothing to do with this offering. Files are uploaded to and rendered (“opened”) on the same servers for all Glowforge customers.
As to your complaint about pricing fairness, an OnStar subscription costs the same whether you buy a $18K Chevy Cruze or a $76K Cadillac Escalade. And both vehicles work just fine without it if you don’t want the add-on, just like your Glowforge.
faster (between hitting print and the white button glowing). Unless you’re doing crazy complicated things you’re unlikely to even notice the difference. I have Premium and it took me longer to walk from my computer to my 