A new home for SketchUp
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“That's a fairly narrow aspiration for this product,” he said.
My attitude towards this acquisition just did a 180 turn ...
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Yeah, definitely -- I've been saying for a while that Google was not doing SketchUp any favors as a general 3D modeling tool... however I'm also not really into BIM either so it may not work out so good for users like me.
Just to be safe, I've begun researching alternatives much more seriously (I already own a few packages but nothing I would say is my main app like SketchUp has been) -- my needs are pretty simple: I want a competent and powerful surface modeler that allows for quick, precise(real world scale) work.
I don't care for BIM or animation tools, and I am apathetic to nurbs, solids, and Sub D (I can take or leave each approach with no issue). SketchUp has fit my needs very well to this point, with the exception of proper UV tools and better performance with high poly counts. I hope it still will in a few years, but if not I will be prepared. Layout is also a software that holds alot of promise for me, and I would be sad to see it not get further development.
As far as pay only versions goes I have no issues there, and I would be willing to pay more if the tools better fit my needs -- but I won't pay more for tools that don't (since I already routinely push SketchUps limits anyway).
Best,
Jason. -
My wish!
Google stay away from blender foundation
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I've been reading over these pages the last two days and all I can say is wow. I got an excited and sickening feeling. I've been using Trimble hardware and software for the last two years, some of what I use daily, S3 robotic total station with wireless TSC2 controller using Trimble Access software, R6 & R8 gps units in RTK mode and VRS network with wireless TSC3 controller using Survey Pro software, GeoHX sub meter handheld with Terrasync software, Trimble Business Center software. Trimble is a big world wide company, hardware is rugged and well built, most of their software is user friendly and intuitive just like SU. Thats the good news. The bad news, everything we use ranges in cost from $1,800 to $42,000, dont forsee a $500 SU anymore, customer service sucks unless you want to pay top dollar for that too, every module or addon to their software cost a third of the program, Business Center comes with a donagle, you have to deal with an authorized dealer or reseller. Trimble mostly caters to civil engineering, survey, gis, and mapping. They have no need for arch viz, product viz, animation, or any of the other uses many here have come up with for SU. The excited feeling is that they can make SU into an even more robust application. The sickening feeling is that my beloved SU will never be the same, as flexable as it is. My opinion is that its gonna be incorporated into some kind of field to finish solution thats compatible with Autodesk Civil 3D or incorporated into 3D scanning or lidar somehow. Either way I think it means a total rewrite of SU and pretty much useless for most of the users here. Lets hope not.
Mike
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"let's buy sketchup and morph it into something unrecognizable and overpriced!"
nah
I don't understand why they would acquire it then.. why not just write a new app instead?
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I don't know....if Trimble wanted an application that didn't do what SU does and how it does it, I don't think they would have bought it. Why buy something and then completely rewrite it? Most of the time it's easier to start from scratch.
My opinion is that SU will mostly remain the same + a few integrated BIM tools or related to that and then have specialised commercial Trimble plugins catered to different needs. That ability makes SU flexible, itt would make more sense than wasting a lot of time making many different versions of SU.
Also SU's connection with Google is not completely severed, that means Google still maintains some interest in SU and it's ability to model buildings for GE or some future project. As such it would make perfect sense to give SU to a company like Trimble and not Auto(bloat)Desk or Dassault.
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Their pushpull is patented.
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@jason_maranto said:
Yeah, definitely -- I've been saying for a while that Google was not doing SketchUp any favors as a general 3D modeling tool... however I'm also not really into BIM either so it may not work out so good for users like me.
Just to be safe, I've begun researching alternatives much more seriously (I already own a few packages but nothing I would say is my main app like SketchUp has been) -- my needs are pretty simple: I want a competent and powerful surface modeler that allows for quick, precise(real world scale) work.
I don't care for BIM or animation tools, and I am apathetic to nurbs, solids, and Sub D (I can take or leave each approach with no issue). SketchUp has fit my needs very well to this point, with the exception of proper UV tools and better performance with high poly counts. I hope it still will in a few years, but if not I will be prepared. Layout is also a software that holds alot of promise for me, and I would be sad to see it not get further development.
As far as pay only versions goes I have no issues there, and I would be willing to pay more if the tools better fit my needs -- but I won't pay more for tools that don't (since I already routinely push SketchUps limits anyway).
Best,
Jason.I agreed wholeheartedly.
Whatever technologies it is, I think they are too much hyped by marketing persons. Especially BIM it's just another term coined up by applied parametric and relation of 3D objects which use to solved engineerings problem for ages. They will always be new techs sooner or later.
We should focus on how effective of our problem solving, not illusions from marketing stand point. The problem is most people failed to address their real need, and lost in these marketing terms.
BTW, I want SketchUp have native options for bump map, reflections, displacement map, etc. even without native renderers or real-time presentation. I think it can be aligned with OpenGL and viewport real-time rendering update and improvements. And there're already so many matured tools these day. So I can switch to whatever rendering tools is needed without rework. Even one that need to export to get it done sophisticately later.
It would be drama for the whole industry if SketchUp under Trimble can become partners or licensed technology from Unreal or CryEngine LOL. The world will changed
http://youtu.be/EySdWbR4qcgSo, SketchUp will official become a tool for everyone who want realistic visualization too
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I dont know Jeff, all I know is SU in its current form just doesn't fit into the range of Trimble products we use. Maybe something in SU is patented and thats what Trimble really wanted, like the reference engine. It wouldn't be the first time a company has bought a software just for something in the software that it wanted to add to its own software and then let it die, look how many times Autodesk has done this.
Mike
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@alpro said:
I dont know Jeff, all I know is SU in its current form just doesn't fit into the range of Trimble products we use. Maybe something in SU is patented and thats what Trimble really wanted, like the reference engine.
Mike
maybe you're right. (but probably not the inference engine.. moi3d has pretty awesome inferencing.. sketchup like in many ways but with extended capabilities)
I think 'push/pull' is patented.. but instead of paying multimillion $$ for the name of a tool, they'd probably just call it something else.
(and please realize when I talk about this kind of stuff, it's pure speculation.. of course I don't really know)
(edit).. oh damn... if rich is saying push pull is patented also then maybe I do know some things
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@ishboo said:
I see one potential benefit that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet which is, if the speculation is accurate and Trimble makes add on to Sketchup, maybe that will be in the form of Ruby plugins which would imply that the Ruby API would get a much needed facelift (eg newer Ruby version, embedded WebKit browser, better file system APIs etc...).
If that is indeed the case, us developers would have a lot more flexibility and freedom to create even better extension.
Just a thought...
I'm secretly hoping DCs get some much needed love.
i personally have some uses for such a thing. (bim + dynamic components)
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@mike lucey said:
A couple of articles flying around,
SketchUp buy adds to Trimble's dimension
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/27/oukin-uk-trimble-idUKBRE83Q1AL20120427
Google's SketchUp Acquired by Trimble
http://www.i-programmer.info/news/99-professional/4128-googles-sketchup-acquired-by-trimble.html
Trimble Snatches SketchUp from Google
http://www.pehub.com/147629/trimble-snatches-sketchup-from-google/
SketchUp Acquisition: The Big Picture
http://www.constructech.com/news/articles/article.aspx?article_id=9248&SECTION=1
Thanks Mike
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@unknownuser said:
I don't understand why they would acquire it then.. why not just write a new app instead?
From how I read the statements,.. they imply:
SketchUp "stand-alone" remains a generic modeling application, whose development and updates, will feed into an "insertable" engine, for Trimble’s professional BIM products (which will be pay of course.)
- Similar to how the best OpenOffice updates find their way into the commercial StarOffice product.
I cannot understand how many of you would think for a minute, that a company that charges premium prices for good AEC/BIM software, is somehow going to revise SketchUp into a cheap/free "BIM for everyone." It is nothing but a pipe dream. Wake up !
Their statements are clear, that they wish to enable their current (and future,) commercial products, with SketchUp style editing. That is a good thing for ease of use of their products. This can mean more sales for customers who already have workers familiar with SketchUp.
The question I'd think of.. will this give their commercial products Ruby extensibility ??
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@unknownuser said:
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.
Kiss Kiss
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I see one potential benefit that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet which is, if the speculation is accurate and Trimble makes add-ons to Sketchup, maybe that will be in the form of Ruby plugins which would imply that the Ruby API would get a much needed facelift (eg newer Ruby version, embedded WebKit browser, better file system APIs etc...).
If that is indeed the case, us developers would have a lot more flexibility and freedom to create even better extension.
Just a thought...
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This is big news. I can't do anything about what is going on so I will wait and see. Funny how everyone is saying that Trimble won't support Apple/Mac products when their Facebook page is allowing you to win an Apple product
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@thomthom said:
@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.Ah, come on! John Bacus has replied many times - the product manager. And several of the SketchUp team has been replying on varius channrls. Your claim is unjust.
My bad! Sorry to all!
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John Bacus just updated the official blog post: http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2012/04/new-home-for-sketchup.html#comment-4758965155257379409
@unknownuser said:
Hi everyone,
Just catching up on this thread again— it has grown since I last checked! Seems like the worries you guys are expressing fall into a couple common themes, which I'll address below. Ping the thread again if there's something else you'd particularly paid attention to that I missed, ask it again.
For the folks worried that we'll stop offering SketchUp for free, "The free version of SketchUp is an important part of our world as well, and that isn’t changing in the least."
For the folks worried that we'll only pay attention to the AEC industry, "If you’re one of the many, many people who use SketchUp for something else—from education to woodworking, geo-modeling to movie-making—rest assured that there will be a SketchUp for you, too."
If you're just worried because you don't like Trimble's website, don't judge a book by its cover
For the folks worried we'll change the name, "SketchUp" seems like a perfectly fine name to me.
For the folks who think this is our big chance to write a 64-bit, mutithreaded Linux client build, see previous answers on our user forums. The core technological principles haven't changed either.
john
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@dan rathbun said:
I cannot understand how many of you would think for a minute, that a company that charges premium prices for good AEC/BIM software, is somehow going to revise SketchUp into a cheap/free "BIM for everyone." It is nothing but a pipe dream. Wake up !
right.. i get that.
but at the same time, i would think sketchup itself would get a little trickle down.. maybe a teaser for the big dogs but for small timers, there might be something helpful in there (at least something better than viewing component stats or generate report..)i'm maybe concerned that ruby devs won't get much more to work with.. from a business point of view, it wouldn't make much sense to open up the api any further.. if they did, ruby developers would be able to create plugins that would directly compete with the add-ons..
(of course, all of this is assuming we'll be seeing a more modular sketchup.. a sketchup that you don't only hookup little individual plugins to but one that you can plug into other apps or other programs can plug into it..)
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@ishboo said:
For the folks who think this is our big chance to write a 64-bit, mutithreaded Linux client build, see previous answers on our user forums. The core technological principles haven't changed either.
Considering what the devs have said about 64 bit in the past, I'm happy to accept this. I do think that 64 bit can help with performance, but it clearly isn't a magic bullet (just look to Adobe). The message so far is that better use of resources will deliver better performance and I'm happy to go along with that.
My only reservation is the issue of 3rd party apps that would benefit from multi-core processing (e.g.Twighight). Would it be possible to allow 3rd party plugins to utilise multicore processing without having to re-engineer SU?
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