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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/Brightbill-0186 on 2025-01-17 18:39:06+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/Plissken185 on 2025-01-17 18:37:48+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/MamasCupcakes on 2025-01-17 17:20:29+00:00.


With the TikTok ban being upheld by the supreme court for them to sell to a non Chinese based company, could this be applied to a company like riot games (league of legends)? Not only are they owned by tencent but they require their kernel level program on your pc to play their games. With the security issues on privacy and access to your pc, could this upheld ban be used as a precedent for other companies, such as riot? Just curious the impact this would have beyond just the force sale of TikTok.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/Tripleoe on 2025-01-17 16:24:45+00:00.


Many of you will already be aware of Bambu Labs' recent announcement. tl;dr: A firmware update scheduled for January 23rd will remove the ability of third-party software such as Orca Slicer or the Panda Touch to connect directly to your printer. Users of third-party slicers will have to export sliced files and load them in a new "Bambu Connect" app in order to start prints or manage the printer.

Why you should care

Open-source collaboration has driven the rapid advancement of 3D printing, enabling companies like Bambu Labs to produce reliable, consumer-grade printers. While Bambu Labs has taken a more closed approach than other manufacturers, they’ve supported third-party integrations and open access in meaningful ways, such as their work on Bambu Studio, a PrusaSlicer fork, and MQTT endpoints for monitoring.

However, their decision to block third-party software access to their printers via a firmware update is a stark departure from this collaborative spirit. This change threatens the fundamental freedoms of hobbyists and professionals who depend on interoperability and flexibility. From here it's a small step to making the firmware mandatory and prohibiting downgrades, after which Bambu Labs gets a veto over anything you want to do with your printer.

The workaround provided, Bambu Connect, adds additional overhead and difficulty to the process of printing for anyone not using Bambu Studio, is closed-source, and is not even feature complete: Linux support is "Under Development", so anyone using Orca Slicer on Linux is simply out of luck for now. Video streaming is also not yet supported, so anyone using a third-party slicer can no longer benefit from one of the major features of their printer.

In short, this change has absolutely no benefit for end-users. It's anti-consumer and represents a reduction of functionality in your printer. Further, it sets the stage for further changes that limit how you may use your printer, such as enforcing model licensing restrictions on-device and preventing third-party development of labor-saving enhancements such as the Panda Touch.

What you can do about it

The Internet's history is littered with events like this, where a company attempts to roll-back the functionality of their devices in service to their own goals and counter to their customers' wishes. In many of these cases, consumer outcry and concrete action such as those outlined below have convinced these companies that remaining open for innovation is the better pathway.

  1. Don't update your printer's firmware: Bambu will likely be tracking download and installation counts. Make it clear you won't run this firmware.
  2. Contact Bambu Labs: Politely express your concerns using their support portal. Make it clear that you value open access and will not accept this change.
  3. Vote with Your Wallet: Pause any purchases of Bambu Labs products or consumables and consider alternatives. If the change goes through, weigh selling your printer or avoiding updates.
  4. Withdraw Your Support on MakerWorld: If you’re a creator, remove or relocate your models to other platforms and consider cashing out exclusive points.
  5. Spread the Word: Share this issue widely to ensure others are informed and can join the pushback.

Contact Bambu Labs

The first thing you should do is make Bambu Labs aware that you're not willing to accept this change. Open a support ticket here and let them know - politely - that you object to this change. It's most effective if you use your own words, but if you'd rather, here's a template you can start from:

I’m writing to express my objection to the recently announced decision to block third-party software from accessing Bambu Labs printers.

As a proud owner of the [model], I chose Bambu Labs for its quality and its openness to innovation. Restricting software access would diminish the flexibility and functionality of my printer, negatively impacting my experience as a user.

Should this change proceed, I will not update my printer's firmware and will reconsider purchasing Bambu Labs products in the future. I urge you to reconsider this decision and maintain open access, which has been a hallmark of 3D printing innovation.

Include as appropriate:

I am also a creator on MakerWorld, with x total downloads and y boosts, having earned z points across my models, which brings significant value to the Bambu Labs ecosystem. Should this change go ahead, I intend to move all my models to other hosting services as soon as any exclusivity period is over. All my future models will be uploaded elsewhere and not mirrored to MakerWorld. [Furthermore, I intend to redeem my [x] exclusive points for cash and close my account.]

--

I have frequently purchased your filaments for the quality and convenience they offer. However, in light of this change I will be seeking out alternative suppliers for my consumable needs.

--

I am responsible for making purchasing decisions for my [school | educational institution | workplace], and in light of this change I will no longer be able to recommend Bambu Labs' products for our use, forcing us to seek out alternatives with your competitors.

Stop buying their stuff

Voting with our pockets is an incredibly powerful tool to demonstrate that this change will not come without a cost.

There are many excellent manufacturers of filament out there - stop buying Bambu's filament.

Don't buy more Bambu Labs printers until they agree to cancel or roll-back this change.

If this is important enough to you, commit to selling your printer if this change is pushed through, or at the point where a firmware upgrade is made mandatory or limits you from using significant new features. Unfortunately, most of us are here because Bambu Labs' printers are significantly better than the competition - but a high quality printer that can only be used in ways the manufacturer deems acceptable is as bad as no printer at all.

If you've previously recommended Bambu Labs printers to others, or if you have control over purchasing decisions at a company or institution, consider finding alternatives.

Withdraw your labour

Many of us are creators who publish our models to MakerWorld. MakerWorld represents a significant boon to Bambu Labs: the presence of high quality models and the close integration with Bambu Studio and Bambu Handy enhances the usefulness of their printers, and the draw of simple click-to-print functionality acts as a significant incentive to people to choose to buy their hardware.

Withdrawing your models from MakerWorld and uploading them elsewhere is a significant loss to Bambu Labs and the attractiveness of MakerWorld and thus their hardware. If you have exclusive points, cashing them out for money rather than using them on vouchers imposes a meaningful financial cost on them as well. If enough makers credibly commit to doing this, the pressure alone will have a significant impact on their calculations when considering if they should go ahead with this change.

If you're a maker and have models you're willing to withdraw, I'd encourage you to commit to doing so in your letter to Bambu Labs and in a comment below. Bear in mind that if you have models under the Exclusive program, you will need to wait 90 days since launch (or 14, in case of the launch exclusive option) before you can remove them and post them elsewhere.

Finally, rather than deleting your listing, you may choose to remove the models and update the description to include a message explaining why you have taken them down, as well as linking your users to where they can now be found.

Spread the word

Let others know that this is a fight worth having, and make them aware of the consequences of letting Bambu Labs limit what we can do with the printers we bought and own. Feel free to link to this post, or write your own explanation. Encourage others to take the actions outlined here.

This isn't the first, tenth, or even hundredth time a company has tried to close their hardware like this. With sufficient pushback, and by demonstrating credibly that this will cost Bambu Labs customers, we can succeed in demonstrating that the costs of being closed are not worth whatever benefits they hope to derive by limiting their customers' options.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/_JonesSeries on 2025-01-17 16:01:48+00:00.


Not saying this is good or bad, just noticed it while scrolling Reddit this morning. It’s a great promotional content for their glasses, so makes sense to use it. Not sure if this has been shared yet either.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/toter321 on 2025-01-17 12:38:05+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/CPS2000 on 2025-01-17 14:44:00+00:00.


All Ive seen this week is multiple sit down interviews with Linus. I'm probably massively out the loop but I was curious why he is suddenly doing loads of interviews.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/tbone338 on 2025-01-16 23:24:06+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/Lyajka on 2025-01-16 14:41:43+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/JoostVisser on 2025-01-16 22:09:33+00:00.


Yeah they had a bad take on LMG in their Honey video, everyone received the message, everyone agrees that it was a bad take. This is the LTT subreddit, not the anti-GN subreddit. It was annoying but ultimately not that big of a deal, stop making it into one.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/VeNoM4004 on 2025-01-16 21:51:12+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/linusbottips on 2025-01-16 19:45:47+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/rwl04 on 2025-01-16 19:52:16+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/SaftimusPrime on 2025-01-16 19:47:29+00:00.

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The original was posted on /r/linustechtips by /u/alteredtechevolved on 2025-01-16 17:46:41+00:00.

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