Silhouette Cameo 3 vs 4?

Take those worries right of the equation. You will be good for a very, very long time with a Cameo 3. Probably a decade or more. Silhouette still supports all their older machines and even when technology out dates them they help find workarounds.

Silhouette are Graphetec machines. Graphetec has been around since the 1940's. At the top of the little pop up box you can see that Silhouette Studio supports Graphetec plotters- www.graphtecamerica.com/ Here's the history-
www.graphteceurope.eu/contact/history.html

Also since the Silhouette is Graphetec you can use different blade holders. You are not limited to Silhouette brands. I use the CB09 blade holder with Graphetec blades. I can get 5 blades for $10. They are great blades.

If and it would be a big IF something happened to Silhouette your machine will have support and alternative software for a long time. These machines might feel like they are not made well but that is a facade. They are little workhorses. I know people who have had their machines for 25 years.

Do you need the 4? Probably not. I do think that this latest edition is setting the new technology standards. The machine is made for a niche market. I think Cricut & Silhouette understand that the 4 & Cricut Maker will be niche and both companies will still make machines that paper crafters and vinyl artists will use for years. For example I do still think we will see Cricut Explore and Silhouette Portrait's still being made and advanced. The majority of people do not need a machine like Maker or 4.

For the art I make a 4 or Maker would be a very good choice for me. I am even on the fence about the 4. I am thinking of upgrading my 2 for a Portrait.

I hope that helps you buy the perfect B-day gift.

@missbellejane Here's Silhouette School Blogs help for that issue- www.silhouetteschoolblog.com/2019/08/windows-10-1809-update-impacting-some.html & Silhouette's statement.

One of my friends contacted Silhouette about the update issue and they did help her with the issue. No, they can't help with the Windows update but are helping with workarounds. They even gave my friend Hub recommendations. They are still supporting but some of the support will have to be workarounds. That is common with technology. They just can't provide a software/hardware upgrade. That is understandable. They will still help with issues with older machines.

All the years I have been a Silhouette user they have helped me with all questions even if it wasn't mine and I was helping somebody else. Trust me I have asked then some really odd questions for some really old machines. They even helped me with a friends Blue Wishblade one time and even helped her fix the blade holder. I hope that helps with what I was trying to convey.

O M Gahh this is great info! I had no idea, YES!! I swear you guys know EVERYTHING!

Silhouette has some bigger machines coming out in the Spring. I'm waiting for that. I have a Cameo 1 and 3 at home, but I would love the 20" for bigger projects!

@missbellejane - this is the Silhouette SD - it predates 2011.  It does not have a firmware update to fix it, but you may be able to use a powered USB 2.0 hub with it.
This is the original Cameo (Cameo 1) .. there IS a firmware update for this machine now. It was just released last week to address the issue with Windows 10.    

@missbellejane This breaks my heart you are not getting the correct help. I am sure at the time the rep did provide you with the correct info that there was not a firmware update. He/she should have been able to help you with workarounds.

I know there are Silhouette CS across the globe. I am really trying to remember which ones they are. If I can find it I will post it so all of you ladies across the pond can have that resource. I can't find it in my notes at the moment.

Yes, older Silhouette's work on Windows 10. There is a big "if" to this. The new Windows Fall Update can cripple USB 1.0 if you are using it on a 3.0 USB port. You can use a Hub, some companies will provide a firmware update to your hardware, such as Silhouette. If you are really techy you can write a program code to workaround.

Windows 10 that is not Fall 2019 the USB protocols and plotter protocols are not changed. They really are not changed in the Fall update either. They have just been updated to work with new communication protocols.

For your Silhouette it reads natively as a printer plotter. You can set it up as such and use it with any software program, including Inkscape. I set up Silhouette's all the time this way in Windows & Linux.

The newer models yes do rely on a generic windows driver but Silhouette has coded a new driver language to run their own driver to communicate with their software. This can be bypassed, legally hence why you can use Silhouette on different software. Graphetec, graciously, shared the coding so I could build Linux drivers one time years back.

I am sorry everyone that was probably really techy. I was trying to keep it simple. I love the tech side of my cutters.

I have a Cameo 2 and a MacBook Pro and the software runs very well. I did what you're doing a few years ago - bought the Cameo 2 when the 3 was released and the previous model was deeply discounted. It's still working really well and does all I need. 

From memory I think that Kerri Bradford uses a Mac in her classes....my MacBook worked fine with my original cameo.

Holy Cow!! Thank you for mentioning this about Paper Issues, I had no idea. I just went there and they have 11 pages of free files! I'm downloading the first 68 as we speak. Awesome.