I agree with you that sometimes new changes in the middle of workflow can be upsetting. One way to help alleviate the shock factor is to set the forum software to send you notifications from Announcements.
Speaking of Announcements, have you had a moment to read through the April Update? It will give you the best information to present at your meeting, with new and helpful updates.
For example, fact: Glowforge Print (what is considered the basic GFUI) will continue getting free updates for life.
The beta trial is an interesting option adding design software right inside the GFUI, which your company may not ever need or use. The two useful actions I can see right off is to add a simple cut shape or outline.
For making puzzles, I can’t imagine the design-in-app would ever be useful to me, but it will be nice to mess around with it for fun.
Over all, even though change that I don’t choose is hard to adapt to, I’m still excited that Glowforge as a company keeps growing, adapting, and pushing forward new technology. But I definitely agree, sometimes it would be nice to get to choose when an update gets applied!