A new home for SketchUp

jeff hammond · 27 Apr 2012, 18:27

John, how ironic. I was just sitting in the bathroom stall next to Mark, thinking the exact same thing. (Sorry for the bathroom humor, couldn't resist). We do get to keep our sense of humor, irony, and, and... what was that third sense, Governor Perry??? Oh yea, EPA.

b

@jpalm32 said:

So he (Mark Harrison) rides in, drops the bomb and scatters!
Not good.
Void of real assurance.
Doesn't stick around to answer some questons. Not good from a PR point.

LOL

(sorry, on a phone.. editing this post to specify which part exactly I'm laughing at is too much of a chore... something in the above was very funny though)

Edson · 27 Apr 2012, 18:32

@mike lucey said:

@krisidious said:

...... The most important thing to me is really this place ...... SketchUcation ...

So onward and upward to better things and Trimble, we'll be watching... so fly straight.

Nice sentiments Kris and thanks from the SketchUcation Team.

Now regarding your last comment regarding Trimble flying straight! While having my chat with John B yesterday he told me to check out the recent accusations by Trimble. This I have been doing this today and am quite impressed. One particular accusation has caught my eye, Gatewing and its x100! You can check it out here ....... Mmmmmm, I wonder if they would be interested in sending one along for a test and review in Catchup

mike,
accusation or acquisition? this whole thing is getting to you...

Dan Rathbun · 27 Apr 2012, 18:43

@bigstick said:

Trimble ... may be good guys, but their website is a mess and it doesn't relate to or engage end user customers in the slightest. It's vague, unfriendly, difficult to find stuff, and full of commercial speak that is almost meaningless.

I will submit it is not supposed to, at all.

That website has the personality of a high-end OEM, that caters to large professional customers, perhaps through a vendor / distributor path.
(Ie, the vendors may actually be the 1st contact for product support, to the customers that they sold the Trimble product to. Similar to how a computer manufacturing company, Dell, Compaq, etc., supports the OEM editions of Windows.)

I would think, that it will be more likely, that a new website will be set up for the "stand-alone" SketchUp edition (perhaps with "Free" content, and "Pro" content accessed by signing-in.)

EscapeArtist · 27 Apr 2012, 18:51

Huh, must've hit the wrong button on a previous post, it's not here.

LOL @ the simplified SU, that's kind of what I'm fearing regarding the possible stark difference between the free and paid versions. And, even though it isn't proven, the rumor of pay-for-ruby is also a negative for the community (not for the ruby devs, though. If they get to make some $ in the end, great!). Trimble is also a corporation that has a definite clientele, whereas Google would at least give anything a try at least once. That means SU could be pushed in the direction of a Civil Design product with features that are meaningless to many SU users, and possibly loss of features that are useful.

Also, if there is a sharp divide everyone, I wonder about all of the render apps that have grown up around SU. If they are forced to change to meet a different platforms needs, what would happen to those of us who use the older software? Would we be left out of the newer versions that may not be backwards compatible? The same applies to rubies.

Anyway. This is all speculation and as of yet, unfounded worries. Hopefully there won't be any drastic changes. All of us will still have SCF ( or whatever it will be called) to call home and the community to be part of.

ericschimel · 27 Apr 2012, 18:53

Hey guys, I got some new information on Trimble:

http://sketchthis.net/more-information-about-trimble/

Nothing earth shattering, but the video is interesting. Worth a few minutes to watch.

I didn't realize how big Trimble is!

Derek Edison · 27 Apr 2012, 18:55

I just caught the news on slashdot this morning and had other things to do before seeing what was going on in here. I've been a member for long enough but I don't ever post obviously. I felt I had to pass along what I've indirectly experienced with Trimble in the past. It seems that most people here have no experience at all with this company.

Let me start by saying I am trying my best to be optimistic and I have faith in the dev's given the fantastic software they have built. There is nothing better for the task of 3D modeling IMHO. I hope that dealing with a large company like Google has given you the savvy that you need for Trimble. I agree with many here that I don't see a good fit though and I've added R&D for other modeling apps to our Strategic Planning. That said here's my story:

Trimble's current software portfolio has a CAD product in it named Terramodel. Try and find it on the website. (It's there) We were long time users of this CAD package back in the 90's. TM was initially developed by a small (compared to Autodesk) company in Atlanta GA named Plus3 software back in the day. It was billed as their 'flagship' product. Developers listened to us and it had features that were more suited to Landscape Architecture and Engineering than AutoCAD and we felt it was far superior. (R14 days)

Any of this sounding @familiar?

Then they were bought out by a company named Spectra Precision. Basically they made surveying stuff and were not interested in taking the software in any direction other than their core business. (fair enough) We decided to move to Autodesk shortly after Land Desktop hit the scene and it was clear SP was not going in the direction we wanted with Terramodel. Not long after that Spectra Precision was acquired by Trimble. When we left Terramodel for Land Desktop around 02-05 (can't remember exactly) Terramodel's version number was 9.7. It is version 10.6 today almost a decade later. What are they going to do with SU? My Network Admin's reaction was 'kiss of death'. I hope he's wrong.

D.E.

ely862me · 27 Apr 2012, 19:00

Neah...too much waste on this matter.. Who cares what they will do? We have a stable version of Sketchup and we have the ruby guys(yay !) .I think it is enough! If we go like this(fair to think the google team didn't upgraded the versions as we thought each time,just minor fixes). All the new tools are from the ruby guys, not from Google.

Certainly we would like some more from Sketchup but we might never have it , as in real life-we want something more but we will never have it !

I think we are doing it pretty good ! Plugins will flow as they did and we'll keep Sketchup 8 alive(or move to something else-if you already haven't ).

IMHO

PS: If you ask me , it's all about the money !

g_wilson · 27 Apr 2012, 19:03

Someone earlier in this thread mentioned Dassault as possible purchaser of SU. In today's Vancouver Sun An article in business section might explain why it didn't/won't happen:

"French 3- D software giant covets Vancouver mining program expertise
Vancouver’s Gemcom Software International expects a friendly $ 360- million US takeover by France’s Dassault Systemes will give it an even larger footprint in the global mining industry.

Gemcom, a privately held company founded in 1985, is already a world leader in geology and mine planning software that’s used by companies ranging from the Vancouver junior exploration sector to senior multinationals such as Teck Resources, Codelco, Vale and BHP Billiton.

Dassault announced Thursday that 360 employees and management at privately held Gemcom would remain in place following what is described as an all- cash acquisition. Gemcom has 4,000 mining sector customers operating in 130 countries. The deal, subject to regulatory approvals on the Euronext exchange where Dassault trades, is expected to close in July. Dassault has an array of three- dimensional modelling platforms for business and industry, from fashion design to auto design to deep sea oil rigs. Notable clients include Boeing, Airbus, BMW, Ford, Under Armour and Guess."

Anssi · 27 Apr 2012, 19:13

@dan rathbun said:

@frv said:

... I see that Trimble also has Tekla. Tekla has a good reputation here in the Netherlands for Civil engineering software and is the biggest competitor for Revit. ...

So the possibility exists, that Trimble may brand the "stand-alone" edition as "Tekla SketchUp" ??

And move the team here- Welcome to Finland!

Anssi

brad · 27 Apr 2012, 19:16

Not late to the party, I've just been lurking on this post and I frequent the bugs forum and Ruby forum from time to time.

Some of you know me I'm Brad on the SketchUp QA team. I've been working on SketchUp since v4. I went through the @Last -> Google acquisition now from Google -> Trimble.

I love the passion this community has for SketchUp. As John said earlier, if there was no reaction we would be worried. The fact people are voicing concern about "our" baby makes me feel good. You care about SketchUp as much as I do!

From the people at Trimble I have met and talked to I can tell you...they are lot like we are, they "get" SketchUp. They know we are passionate about SketchUp. They know our users are passionate about SketchUp. They know our users are not just some people that use SketchUp, it's a community of people who don't want their baby being touched by a stranger.

I excited about the future! I don't know what is going to happen in the future but I'm moving forward with the SketchUp team to Trimble to get this party started.

jbacus · 27 Apr 2012, 19:21

@khai said:

welllll there was trueSpace and Microsoft...

Microsoft also owned Softimage (remember Softimage?) until they sold it to Avid in 1998. Who then sold it to Autodesk in 2008.

john
.

andybot · 27 Apr 2012, 19:24

@ely862me said:

All the new tools are from the ruby guys, not from Google.

Exactly! If SU were to disappear down a black hole, we still have a great program as it is enhanced by the plugins (sorry SU developers, that blame is aimed squarely at Google ) I do hope there's freedom to develop the program in ways that had languished before.

We'll see... (geez, I'm waiting for vfsu, now another wait on where SU goes. Oh well, guess I better get back to work.)

Mike Lucey · 27 Apr 2012, 19:25

@edson said:

@mike lucey said:

@krisidious said:

...... The most important thing to me is really this place ...... SketchUcation ...

So onward and upward to better things and Trimble, we'll be watching... so fly straight.

Nice sentiments Kris and thanks from the SketchUcation Team.

Now regarding your last comment regarding Trimble flying straight! While having my chat with John B yesterday he told me to check out the recent accusations by Trimble. This I have been doing this today and am quite impressed. One particular accusation has caught my eye, Gatewing and its x100! You can check it out here ....... Mmmmmm, I wonder if they would be interested in sending one along for a test and review in Catchup

mike,
accusation or acquisition? this whole thing is getting to you...

Nay, its not getting to me in the slightest. I was becoming a little bored of late and this is livening things up.
BTW, I've corrected the word misplacement now ...... and ........ before anyone says it ..... it was not a Freudian slip ..... more a case of a mis spelt word and then an incorrect replacement word

bigstick · 27 Apr 2012, 19:58

@unknownuser said:

From the people at Trimble I have met and talked to I can tell you...they are lot like we are, they "get" SketchUp. They know we are passionate about SketchUp. They know our users are passionate about SketchUp. They know our users are not just some people that use SketchUp, it's a community of people who don't want their baby being touched by a stranger.

I excited about the future! I don't know what is going to happen in the future but I'm moving forward with the SketchUp team to Trimble to get this party started.

Thanks a lot Brad, this helps! The corporate ethos is important I think. When you see a faceless corporation, you tend to think the worst. It's nice to know they have identified the passion, and more importantly, have some of their own!

jbacus · 27 Apr 2012, 20:04

@mrdentini said:

I've been told that SU will be greatly simplified.

I love it! Those of you who have been around for a while may have seen me post shots of my SketchUp workspace before, which is simple. I'm a fan of simplicity in life... and design.

Burkhard · 27 Apr 2012, 20:08

I would like to welcome a Trimble member at Sketchucation to share in our joy here.

Ecuadorian · 27 Apr 2012, 20:18

@mike lucey said:

I was becoming a little bored of late and this is livening things up.

This explains the flame-bait threads started in the Corner Bar...

jeff hammond · 27 Apr 2012, 20:34

@jbacus said:

@mrdentini said:

I've been told that SU will be greatly simplified.

I love it! Those of you who have been around for a while may have seen me post shots of my SketchUp workspace before, which is simple. I'm a fan of simplicity in life... and design.

[attachment=0:3ci5ah4s]SketchUpScreenSnapz002.png[/attachment:3ci5ah4s]

thats looking a bit outdated john.. the collapse toolbar lozenge has been replaced by the full screen icon hint_wink_etc

solo · 27 Apr 2012, 20:53

Rumor has it the next version will replace ex Google staff with a German shepard...just sayin...

TIG · 27 Apr 2012, 21:43

Ve hav vaze of makin you happy...

I'm sure the neue version will arrive very subtly ...

A new home for SketchUp

"...exaggerate the essential and leave the obvious unclear." --Vincent Van Gogh

"...exaggerate the essential and leave the obvious unclear." --Vincent Van Gogh