undefined | Better HN

0 pointsbraum10y ago0 comments

Is it true the machine requires connection to internet or your cloud to cut or engrave? I was about to order a Pro until I read this in the comments. I expect to be able to use this machine with my laptop running some program and "send to laser", no internet connection required.

0 comments

danshapiro10y ago

Cofounder/CEO here, just finished with Makercon and catching up.

The Glowforge does require a cloud connection to operate. We use cloud vs. local a host of reasons including the motion planner, alignment, image recognition, and faster feature development.

But based on the excellent point made here that nobody wants a paperweight if we fall off the globe, we decided to make a change. We're going to do a GPL release of the firmware so people can do whatever they want, including porting offline functionality. You buy it, it's yours, you should get to do what you want with it.

http://glowforge.com/gpl-licensed-open-source-firmware-for-g...

Thanks for the great feedback.

swetland10y ago

So, further questions:

1. When you mention planner, etc, does this imply the cloud service is involved not just in a prep phase, but actively during the control loop while the device is cutting? The latter would be worrisome to me.

2. Will you be able to elaborate at all on the functionality of the firmware (and/or provide protocol documentation for it) prior to ship? I'm not sure how comfortable I am pre-ordering without understanding just how much work there is between the device as delivered and an actual, functional, standalone cutter.

I see on the blog that modifying the firmware invalidates warranty coverage. This seems like another argument for protocol docs and/or ability to usefully have at least one cut path that does not tie you to an online service or nuke your warranty.

adanto684010y ago

Based on his response[1] to a question here 220 days ago, sounds like it does require an internet connection...

1 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9055330

rsync10y ago

"Is it true the machine requires connection to internet or your cloud to cut or engrave?"

I would also like very much to know the answer to this question.

Apofis10y ago

Why hell would it need this? I would really like to know as well. Was seriously about to place an order for a Pro but this leaves me wondering...

digi_owl10y ago

Just speculating here, but it could be similar to how Google such do voice controls. Meaning that there is some processing that needs to take place that is offloaded to some server cluster somewhere, rather than attempting to do it locally.

monochromatic10y ago

This is the impression I got from watching a video linked elsewhere in these comments.

bliti10y ago

It is odd to require an Internet connection. The Epilog models at my disposal do not.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse