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Then what's the point? It would take effort to develop these "features", the only benefit of which would be predatory. For example: > Bambu’s cloud slicer is

Then what's the point? It would take effort to develop these "features", the only benefit of which would be predatory. For example: > Bambu’s cloud slicer is a massive lost opportunity for Prusa. Bambu's cloud slicer is a complicated SaaS undertaking that incurs hosting and storage costs, yet doesn't (so far as I know) generate any revenue for Bambu Labs. So why do it, unless you want to make sure that a copy of whatever your product prints gets sent to and stored on a server in China? What's the "non-predatory" justification for this over local slicing?

maximus-decimus 3y ago
Some people want to be able to launch a print job from a remote location e.g. their living room with their 3d printers being in a workshop. Personally, I think that's a fire hazard, but I've definitely seen youtubers liking that feature.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  For 3D printers that's a manageable risk, for laser cutters I would highly recommend against unattended operation. They're fire starters first and laser cutters second, treat them as such.
drewdevault 3y ago
Businesses are more complex than just one facet. Not everything the business offers has to be a direct revenue driver; it builds trust with the brand and improves the experience by putting everything you need with respect to your printer in the same spot. Which of the following experiences delivers better value to the customer: 1. They buy a printer and can immediately slice and print stuff on the vendor's web app 2. They buy a printer and have to deal with the nightmare of installing and configuring Cura The former is more meaningful still when you consider how it can integrate with other parts of the value-add, such as Creality's model database, which can take you from the model's detail page to the slicer in just a click or two -- no download, no import into Cura, no setting up Octoprint or whatever. For enthusiasts the value-add is not entirely necessary but for consumers it's massive. And none of this precludes continuing to support local slicers or free software! In fact, if you value FOSS in your product line (as Prusa… well, used to) they will be using and contributing to the same slicer you run on your workstation as they run on their servers.
- riddley 3y ago
  Again I have to ask if you've ever used a Prusa, no really this time? Prusa users use Prusaslicer, not Cura. Printables.com often hosts gcode files that require no slicing at all by end users. These points completely aside -- do you think 3d printer novices are going to last long without learning a slicer? Is that really your assertion? Also, is installing Cura a "nightmare" ? So much explosive language!
  - drewdevault 3y ago
    Yes, I have used a Prusa, but I have mostly used Cura with it. The bulk of my experience with Prusas started with finding one at the local hackerspace, firing up Cura and finding a profile for it, getting it to work and never questioning this procedure again. I used Prusaslicer once or twice, but nevertheless, I cut my teeth on Cura so I used the tool I knew. Not that the comment you're replying to alleges that most Prusa users are using Cura, for the record. Yes, installing and using Cura is a nightmare for non-technical users, and indeed serious users will have to install a slicer eventually. But that's the point: this product design locks it into the enthusiast market, and most consumers don't want to deal with that overhead. Clicking "print this" on a model catalogue, having it fire up a cloud slicer thing, and pressing "go" is a better user experience for a novice, plain and simple, and I'm sick of arguing with your enlightened enthusiast takes here.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      If you're sick of arguing maybe you shouldn't be starting arguments? What you say makes very little sense. Prusa has an audience, you are not that audience. So go buy something else and write about how great your experience is instead of kicking Prusa, especially if you haven't bothered using their slicer, which is absolutely fantastic, runs locally and supports linux.
    - kiba 3y ago
      I used both Prusaslicer and Cura. They worked. Prusaslicer comes in with built in profile for my specific Prusa machine. The generic profiles work well enough for my purposes.
wuttrw 3y ago
How are any of those examples predatory? If you're in a hurry and want something they just remove friction.

maximus-decimus 3y ago

Some people want to be able to launch a print job from a remote location e.g. their living room with their 3d printers being in a workshop. Personally, I think that's a fire hazard, but I've definitely seen youtubers liking that feature.

jacquesm 3y ago
For 3D printers that's a manageable risk, for laser cutters I would highly recommend against unattended operation. They're fire starters first and laser cutters second, treat them as such.

drewdevault 3y ago

Businesses are more complex than just one facet. Not everything the business offers has to be a direct revenue driver; it builds trust with the brand and improves the experience by putting everything you need with respect to your printer in the same spot. Which of the following experiences delivers better value to the customer: 1. They buy a printer and can immediately slice and print stuff on the vendor's web app 2. They buy a printer and have to deal with the nightmare of installing and configuring Cura The former is more meaningful still when you consider how it can integrate with other parts of the value-add, such as Creality's model database, which can take you from the model's detail page to the slicer in just a click or two -- no download, no import into Cura, no setting up Octoprint or whatever. For enthusiasts the value-add is not entirely necessary but for consumers it's massive. And none of this precludes continuing to support local slicers or free software! In fact, if you value FOSS in your product line (as Prusa… well, used to) they will be using and contributing to the same slicer you run on your workstation as they run on their servers.

riddley 3y ago
Again I have to ask if you've ever used a Prusa, no really this time? Prusa users use Prusaslicer, not Cura. Printables.com often hosts gcode files that require no slicing at all by end users. These points completely aside -- do you think 3d printer novices are going to last long without learning a slicer? Is that really your assertion? Also, is installing Cura a "nightmare" ? So much explosive language!
- drewdevault 3y ago
  Yes, I have used a Prusa, but I have mostly used Cura with it. The bulk of my experience with Prusas started with finding one at the local hackerspace, firing up Cura and finding a profile for it, getting it to work and never questioning this procedure again. I used Prusaslicer once or twice, but nevertheless, I cut my teeth on Cura so I used the tool I knew. Not that the comment you're replying to alleges that most Prusa users are using Cura, for the record. Yes, installing and using Cura is a nightmare for non-technical users, and indeed serious users will have to install a slicer eventually. But that's the point: this product design locks it into the enthusiast market, and most consumers don't want to deal with that overhead. Clicking "print this" on a model catalogue, having it fire up a cloud slicer thing, and pressing "go" is a better user experience for a novice, plain and simple, and I'm sick of arguing with your enlightened enthusiast takes here.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    If you're sick of arguing maybe you shouldn't be starting arguments? What you say makes very little sense. Prusa has an audience, you are not that audience. So go buy something else and write about how great your experience is instead of kicking Prusa, especially if you haven't bothered using their slicer, which is absolutely fantastic, runs locally and supports linux.
  - kiba 3y ago
    I used both Prusaslicer and Cura. They worked. Prusaslicer comes in with built in profile for my specific Prusa machine. The generic profiles work well enough for my purposes.

wuttrw 3y ago

How are any of those examples predatory? If you're in a hurry and want something they just remove friction.