Cricut is limiting the use of its crafting machines with a monthly subscription (opens in new tab)

My wife uses Cricut extensively for crafting. It sits right next to my 3D printer in the garage so I’ve gotten to witness her fighting with Design Space —the garbage electron App used for sending designs to the Cricut — first hand. The whole thing is rife with dark patterns and it will occasionally just stop working when it can’t connect to the internet. I would love any HN recommendations for a FOSS alternative that lets her cut her own SVGs without the bloat, especially with this latest BS from Cricut.

EDIT: This [0] Hackaday article on the situation mirrors my sentiments. In the maker/tinker/3D print space, there are tons of great resources for free STLs, custom firmware and mods. Shortly after I first bought her the Cricut she asked me if there was a limit or a trial on free prints because an SVG she’d made in photoshop now showed a $PRICE when she clicked print. I suspected something similar to what they’re now implementing, and was ready to be angry, but realized it was just one of their dark patterns- Design Space only has a couple free fonts (in addition to whatever comes with the OS). If you use a “Cricut” font on accident anywhere on your project, DS shows you a $PRICE when you attempt to print. No explanation that the price is because you used a paid font. She’s since learned how to add new OS fonts and avoid the paid ones (which can’t be hidden/filtered/turned off).

I love that that my wife has found a creative outlet with solid and approachable hardware. I HATE just about everything else about Cricut, especially the ransomware that is Cricut Design Space.

[0] https://hackaday.com/2021/03/15/cricut-decides-to-charge-ren...