Dan has been very clear in other posts that the cloud based software will not be open sourced, unlike the firmware which has been been promised to be open sourced when the units start shipping.
Some more details in this topic:
Dan has been very clear in other posts that the cloud based software will not be open sourced, unlike the firmware which has been been promised to be open sourced when the units start shipping.
Some more details in this topic:
I do hope that, in the unfortunate event of company collapse, that position will be reconsidered. I realize the code, or portions thereof, could be recycled and used in any number of applications going forward, but still.
If the company collapsed I still think it is unlikely to be open sourced by GF as it would lose its value - instead the software/IP would just be sold to the highest bidder along with the other assets of the company e.g. customer base, online stores, Proofgrade, trademarks, etc.
What a new owner might do with software/IP/assets is just pure speculationâŚ
IMHO I think this scenario is very unlikely given GF appear to have considered a number of future revenue streams (e.g. Proofgrade, Design Store), product extensions (replaceable head) and I am sure new GF versions (bigger, faster, new features).
Your brother would not be amused
Hot dang!! My first project on my GF (when/if I get it) will be construction of itâs successor. What oh what did my $4k get me into.
Hadnât considered that.
And add a Z-axis bed
OoooorrrrrrrrrrrâŚ
This is all a topic that doesnât really need to continue, because the strength of GF is self evident and the money to keep things going is still all there and nothing to worry about.
Seems like an over simplistic view. Without things like limit switches like other devices, there are quite a few limitations. It also assumes someone else will solve the problems of the interface.
Of course it is. When one purchases something the expectation is that it will work, and work for as long as reasonably possible. Thatâs not a complicated concept at all. But if you disagree, so be it.
stop telling people how to converse. itâs clearly a legit concern for some customers. it dismays me, how this forum tone polices sometimes.
I donât think this was meant to police this topic. More participating in the conversation from the viewpoint of a person that isnât worried about the company vanishing.
My disagreement was on the simplified view of being able to use the Glowforge if the cloud service dies. Having the firmware open sourced is only one portion of this - While it might be possible to get it up and running with other projects that have done, it wont be a trivial item, and it may not even be possible - especially if you are not capable of doing that work yourself.
I agree with you that things should work, and work for as long as necessary.
I never said, thought, or expected that itâd be easy. Just doable. And if a group of devs got together, I have almost 0 doubt they could create whatâs needed. I wouldnât expect it to be identical in form or even function. Possibly better than the original! Possibly just enough to get by and make it go. Possibly not possible at all.
The big question will be the protocol that the printer uses to communicate with the cloud. Mutual authentication, signalling, data streaming etc. You could probably reverse-engineer that from the firmware if you had to, but it would be much nicer if it were documented. In addition, what shared secrets there are between the GF and the cloud server. Iâm assuming that even for simple zap-a-file operation youâre still going to need smarts in another box unless you switch out the controller.
almost certainly