A new home for SketchUp

Abe Megahed · 27 Apr 2012, 03:02

<sigh>

The world just doesn't seem to know what to do with 3D. Sad, sad, sad. So many missed opportunities.

SketchUp could have dovetailed nicely into Google's offerings in ways far deeper than just a tool for Google Earth, but it would have required cooperation and communication between Mountain View and Boulder, which never was to be.

Google's ad based model could have fit perfectly with SketchUp. In the late 1990s, with Hypercosm, we built a web based viewer / simulation platform and an ad server that served up advertisements while the model downloaded. We implemented web based 3D search in ways that tied together 3D models and 2D web pages together. Google had the muscle to have made 3D simulation a web supported media type. There are a zillion ways that SketchUp's mission and Google's mission could have been made to align. But, it would have required people to talk.

So long, SketchUp, it's been good to know ya.

-abe.

Abe Megahed
founder, Hypercosm (1998-2011)

solo · 27 Apr 2012, 03:19

Get used to the term BIM, as it looks like SU and BIM are gonna meet @ Trimble. Great news for some that have been wanting this for a while. Hopefully they keep the free version or have an optional version for the modeling masses that have no need for BIM. If these guys know what they are doing and it seems they do as I could not find much negative on them (or much of anything for that matter) they could elevate SU into something awesome with an even wider and tailored appeal which will finally rid it's distractors and software snobs.

Krisidious · 27 Apr 2012, 03:55

wtf? is it april first?

Gaieus · 27 Apr 2012, 04:05

Good evening, Kriss!

Mark H. · 27 Apr 2012, 04:08

Hey everyone,

John and I were sitting together for most of the day, so I've been plugged into the dialogue here, and I have to say that the inspiring part of working with the SketchUp team is that threads like these echo beyond these forums. We're definitely encouraged by the confidence you all have in SketchUp, and we also understand the skepticism around this news. Ultimately, it's up to us to show you why we're excited for SketchUp's future. To wrap, I wanted to share a comment that was left on our Facebook wall, because it has really resonated with our team today:

"I think part of this worry is that users could be afraid that this move is really to compete than to innovate. Just remember those numerous plugins by your biggest fans. And because of these fans, your software has the be ability for complex modeling, BIM, rendering and animation. So, in a way it is limitless compared to the $3,000 drafting programs! Now that I think about it, what makes SketchUp so unique is that it has nothing to do with technology, it's community. People work so hard on new plugins because they believe in your software, they even offer to help and inspire newcomers. This is pride, and I recommend your team lets that become your navigation as SketchUp develops further. Good luck!" -- Christopher Vela

Mark

agamemnus · 27 Apr 2012, 04:14

Excellent.

The complex plugins are still horribly slow on my relatively new Asus G74. Maybe now this new company can advance the plugin API and make plugins faster (compiled?). The Sketchup plugin developers have done so much with so little. Now perhaps they can do a lot more with a lot...

petersaal · 27 Apr 2012, 04:23

I hope this means that SketchUp will finally be ported to run on the Commodore 64. There's a huge community that's been waiting for it. For decades. We're getting old.

jeff hammond · 27 Apr 2012, 04:30

if I could offer one piece of advise on making this transition, from the user point of view, be a welcomed one.. it would be to make sure all the license transfers and whatnot go smoothly.

it's probably one of those weird situations when someone has to do a lot of work in order to create something that more/less goes under appreciated or unnoticed by others but if that work wasn't done, it's gonna be gripefest2012.

(or hey, maybe google just loads up the license hard drive and ships it over to trimble and everything stays the same.. ha. I don't know how this stuff works)

fakircho · 27 Apr 2012, 05:24

I really think that the next step has been long overdue for Sketchup, i just hope this is the right one, good luck to the Sketchup team

Alan Fraser · 27 Apr 2012, 06:30

A sensible, balanced evaluation from TechCrunch .
I can see the move as perfectly logical...a GIS company buying a software company that can build geopositioned 3D content. After all, FormFonts models pretty much exclusively in SU, for SU users, yet who did we do a deal with a couple of months back? ESRI...a GIS company, probably better known for its software than Trimble which at the moment seems to deal mainly in hardware...which has to run on software, when all is said and done.

You also have to ask yourself what were the alternatives? Dassault? They'd probably have killed it off or come up with some weird SU-3DVia love-child. Most of the other big boys are owned by Autodesk...no thanks. Then again, it could have remained with Google.
Who can put their hand on their heart and say that development under Google has been everything they'd wished for? Change is always scary...but it can offer some great opportunities and makes for an interesting ride.

Bob James · 27 Apr 2012, 07:49

@solo said:

Base camp and October fest need to overlap.

From what I saw at Boulder you did pretty well at overlapping it anyway

thomthom · 27 Apr 2012, 07:57

@bob james said:

@solo said:

Base camp and October fest need to overlap.

From what I saw at Boulder you did pretty well at overlapping it anyway

thomthom · 27 Apr 2012, 07:57

@unknownuser said:

@mark h. said:

I wanted to share a comment that was left on our Facebook wall, because it has really resonated with our team today

I will feel more comfortable if we will have a better contact with the whole SU team. It looks Google haven't allow you to talk to us as openly as you wanted to. Will it change under Trimble wings?

I really hope so - from what I understand, thing where more open in the days of @Last.

tomasz · 27 Apr 2012, 08:09

@mark h. said:

I wanted to share a comment that was left on our Facebook wall, because it has really resonated with our team today

I will feel more comfortable if we will have a better contact with the whole SU team. It looks Google haven't allowed you to talk to us as openly as you wanted to. Will it change under Trimble wings?

MrMikeEsq · 27 Apr 2012, 08:36

I was glad as soon as I read this. So long as all current functionality remains, if more advanced stuff gets added what's the problem? I've never used trimble gear, although know a land surveyor who does

Panga · 27 Apr 2012, 08:39

Euh...Trimble ?? SketchUp for linux ??...ok I left...

thomthom · 27 Apr 2012, 08:45

Are people really going to walk away from SketchUp before they even see the direction it's going?

Marian · 27 Apr 2012, 08:55

@thomthom said:

Are people really going to walk away from SketchUp before they even see the direction it's going?

Neah...it's just fear talking.

chedda · 27 Apr 2012, 08:56

Some people are on the edge of moving this could be the push they need. I am however hopefull my only issues with sketch up are performance related and high poly support. This is surely a given now they are entering the pro market. I do fear for the free users however who may eventually be dropped. Googles do no evil was a good thing. Has Mr Bacus mentioned version 9 anywhere, it has to be in development right ? I'm guessing it will be launched under the trimble banner and then they will start producing their add ons.

thomthom · 27 Apr 2012, 09:14

@chedda said:

Some people are on the edge of moving this could be the push they need.

Push for what? There is no clear indication to what this involves. Why abandon ship before it's sinking?
I understand cautious - I am. But saying goodbye already now is just rash.

@chedda said:

I do fear for the free users however who may eventually be dropped.

From the announcement it seem clear that there will remain free SketchUp version.

@chedda said:

Googles do no evil was a good thing

Well, do no evil doesn't mean they do just good.
How much enhancement did SketchUp get during the Google era vs the @Last era? Thing did for sure slow down - at least for those that didn't have that much for the integration with Google's mapping services. In terms of modelling tools, Solid tools for Pro was about what SketchUp got while Google managed it. Google is a might large company - but that doesn't mean all their projects are on unlimited budget. Also observe the amount of information that came from the SketchUp developers during @Last vs Google.
Just say, while I am a Google fan, they aren't automatically the best thing.

@chedda said:

Has Mr Bacus mentioned version 9 anywhere, it has to be in development right ?

I wouldn't expect such announcements during an acquisition. They will need to re-group and re-plan. The game just changed. Observe what happened to V-Ray for SketchUp and V-Ray for Rhino when ChaosGroup acquired ASGVis - their planned roadmap had to be revised.

@chedda said:

I'm guessing it will be launched under the trimble banner and then they will start producing their add ons.

There is what I hope it will be - as addons - as plugins. So SketchUp remains lean and simple. A core platform we can build our own software on.