Sure Cuts A Lot 2 for both Mac & Windows (Full Featured Retail Version - Not a Trial). Cricut settled its lawsuits with Make the Cut and Sure Cuts a Lot in 2011, not in 2021.A rare chance to own a Mac/Windows hybrid disc of Sure Cuts A Lot 2! Limited quantities available. This is why we fight for the Right to Repair, and why it means more than just odd screws and PDF files – it’s about your right to own, use, fix, and modify your devices to suit your needs.īroken is more than just phone screens, and the Right to Repair is for everyone. If they don’t demand, and win, the right to fully use the machines they purchased and own, they will always be captive to whatever treaty their victors offer. Customers can pay for a machine, take it into their home, and still be hamstrung by software locks. Our friends at the Electronic Frontier Foundation also petitioned for an exemption that would help owners modify their devices, including by loading the software of one’s choice onto the device.Ĭricut’s retreat isn’t a complete victory. This year, iFixit petitioned the US Copyright Office for an exemption that would allow owners of devices like Cricuts to circumvent those digital locks in order to fix them when they break. Cricut sued these companies under an obscure provision of copyright law, Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it illegal for anyone to try and get around the digital locks that manufacturers use to control access to a device’s software. Provo Craft settled lawsuits in 2011 with the makers of Make the Cut and Sure Cuts a Lot, software that backs up Cricut cartridges and lets crafters cut shapes and fonts not offered in official software, respectively. Cricut’s owner, Provo Craft, sues makers of third party software to make sure customers stay locked into Cricut’s software and cloud storage system. There’s not a lot of recourse for people who wish their machines worked differently. Had Cricut stuck with their plan, they might have outdone printer ink DRM in making people furious with a machine that still technically works. Photo: Factorf2/Flickrįor the most part, the Cricut story is a win for those who called out this rent-seeking software leverage on Twitter, Instagram, and in blogs. It erodes the concept of ownership, it generates e-waste by tying devices to individual accounts and buyers-and if we don’t do something about it, it will inspire more companies to do the same.Ĭricut machine making short work of wooden circuit impressions. And in some cases, the manufacturers unilaterally change the terms of that agreement. This all happens after the buyer has signed a dense, indecipherable user agreement. Companies sell seemingly functional products, then require owners to have a free online account for certain features, then make a subscription mandatory for most functions. This type of break is terribly difficult to fix, and it’s happening far too often. Would Cricut have planned and announced this change, if they didn’t think they could get away with it? They probably could have it’s worked for other industries. Cricut has “no intention to change this policy,” their CEO writes. ![]() The company-which forced customers to use a cloud service to upload designs to their own machines-will allow customers to keep uploading them. ![]() They turned on Cricut just as quickly.Īs we were preparing to publish this post, Cricut backed up even further. ![]() 31, 2021.Ĭricut fans go out of their way to praise the machine’s virtues. In an open letter, the company said they would remove the 20-upload limit-but only for customers who registered an account before Dec. For craft shop owners, easier still.Ĭrafters, cosplayers, and other Cricut customers revolted, and the company stepped back slightly on March 16. 20 uploads might seem like a lot to outsiders, but with revisions and mistakes, it would be easy for some customers to hit that limit. The “update” would have limited Cricut owners to uploading just 20 designs to their own devices each month, unless they paid for Cricut’s $8-per-month-minimum cloud service, Cricut Access. A Cricut Expression cutting machine.Ĭricut, maker of crafter-friendly precision cutting machines for fabric, vinyl, paper, and other materials, snuck a big change in a “New features and updates” announcement on March 12. They ultimately pulled back when crafters revolted, but they, or another device maker, will inevitably try again-unless we change the laws that let them. But over a week’s time, the makers of a different locked-down, web-connected device tried their best to get a bigger cut from their most loyal customers with mandatory subscriptions. It takes a lot to outdo printer makers in the cash-grab game.
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