What the hell is going on here? Microsoft acquired Netfabb?
I don’t know if they acquired Netfabb, or just partnered with them. I do know that I uploaded a model and the service fixed it up just fine!
I just don’t trust Microsoft. lol
yeah, probably scanning object files and creating a list of emails and DRM stuff
A little more detail, it looks like just a move to Azure: http://www.netfabb.com/blog/?bid=197
But this may force @ThantiK away from Netfabb if he was still using it.
They licensed the slicer and put it on azure to provide free slicing/model repair to consumers who use their free 3d builder app and will charge businesses to use it if they incorporate slicing into an app. Microsoft has a balanced approach here. They did create a new file format for a lot of different reasons and one reason is drm but it’s not forced.
Things have changed allot at MS over the last year. For instance they open-sourced the .Net framework today.
(For complete transparency, i am a contracted hardware engineer working for Xbox Acc.) The attitude is changing here as well.
@Camerin_hahn is that Satya Nadella at work?
@Thomas_Sanladerer not sure, I know Ballmer left because he wanted to make a cultural shift, because the corporate culture was broken(people were rewarded for torpedoing peers on occasion). The cultural shift described was one of collaboration… and it will take a few years, but really there are good people here. I saw this move just before posting (I was unaware of until it was announced) it made me really happy.
Speculation: satya nadella is a cloud guy, this is a move from a single license sale, to a cloud based value added company. As I said I am xbox acc so I have limited exposure to anything out side of xbox acc.
The 3d printer drivers you can get demo source for by sending an email, maybe it is posted publicly. I had them installed, found a major bug, reported it (then I mentioned I was a contractor).
@Brook_Drumm if the file format even has the capability of DRM, I will be speaking loudly and warning people not to use it. I still use netfabb to repair models, I just don’t use cloud repair anymore. Can’t. Won’t.
@ThantiK I really don’t understand why drm is inherently bad. I understand that the culture this community is fostering is designed to be open and free, but limiting progress for the stated reason of drm is inherently bad is silly in my mind… it is analogous to religious leaders yelling ,“science is inherently evil because it disagrees with my belief system”.
I personally do think that some types of drm are inherently bad, but not all types. In the same way that I believe intellectual properties could be used to protect the open-source community. but the community has a sour taste due to abuse of these systems.
For the record I think stl file format needs to die, we do need a file format that supports things non homogeneous materials. Looking at the ms spec it has a number of advantages over stl. If people would look at it rather then just blindly yell and hypothesize the demise of the open world… then maybe the community could come up with a compatible tweak on the standard that doesn’t support drm…
Besides, the ms printer driver suite supports marlin flavored g-code. So you could record the file and replay it many times.
What it is designed to prevent us someone downloading the entirety of thingiverse, moving it to shapeways marking up your intellectual properties and selling them when they are meant to be free. (By the way if you remember… that happened)
If you are at your core against all drm then octoprint should get rid of their login to print settings. And we should frown upon e3ds non compete clause in their open-source license
@Camerin_hahn , Microsoft’s strategy for most things has been Embrace, Extend, Extinguish. You cannot blame people for wanting to avoid them due to past experiences. They haven’t changed, and I would much rather a committee of 3D printing related companies create a new format than Microsoft alone forge ahead on its own path and migrate everyone, only to lock things down and make them proprietary like they’ve tried to do everything else in the past.
In an ecosystem where we’ve got WAY more linux and mac users than is typical, having Microsoft make this file format with the tools to read it is just bad news all around.
The file format is plane text xml, you can read it with a text editor.
Also, have I have worked with people from both apple and ms, interviewed at both. From personal interactions with people at both companies, I would be much more concerned if Apple entered the market space. But that is just me.
The reasons I heard in person from the lead MS programmer on the project made sense. I ain’t scared. I say we wait to see the implementation. If it’s no good, the community can step up and offer an alternative. I see it at forward motion to have such resources working to make the user experience better-- and I do believe that is what is happening here. The fact that MakerBot or Microsoft has enough users to invent their own format for reasons they believe they need isn’t evil, it’s a business plan. Adoption of these formats remains to be seen. Since both provide other options, it’s not that threatening. If the business model doesn’t work, something else will take it’s place. I think we do need some sort of drm for those that want/need it. Everything can’t be free. We need a way for artists to sell their work without the work getting with minimal risk. You can’t eliminate the possibility that it will get hacked and posted, but you can make a lock and key to keep honest people honest. If I could buy some of MakerBot’s original models in a format that a PrintrBot could print, I would. That’s why I pay for tv shows in iTunes instead if BitTorrent illegal copies- peace of mind and convenience. This doesn’t make apple evil, it makes a smart business plan that scales and offers huge convenience for those that want to use it. We need a file format that enables this type of marketplace.
-brook
well, I guess I will not be using netfab anymore. I don’t like being forced into using a microsoft live id. I don’t want or need another login. Goodbye.
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