A new home for SketchUp
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I think everyone is enjoying all this speculation. One thing is for sure in my opinion, it is Google that will have the major benefit at the end of the day .... somehow. Mmmmm, maybe we could speculate as to how that might be the case?
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@mrmikeesq said:
It's not like Google were the perfect people for the job! It's the great software that held everything together.
Both Trimble users I know (both spent an absolute fortune on Trimble stuff!) seem to love the company and it's products, which is a good sign too.
And yes, I'm glad it's not Autodesk.
Indeed, it is the legacy of @last software which has held it's ground......but I have never lost sight of the greatest resource of all, the SketchUp community....and add to that the communities which have sprouted from the vendors of several render plugins and we have everything we need at our fingertips.
Only a few things need to be done under the new ownership :
- Allow the SU development team to improve SU to meet the demands of SU users
- Keep a sensible price point
- Maintain a healthy and vibrant relationship with third party vendors
- Encourage the existence of Forum communities such as this
If not, we will talk with our wallets as soon as someone comes up with a software package which is able to replace SU....i wouldn't want that to happen for sentimental reasons, but lets face it, someone might take it on...!!...it has, after all, been done before.....!!
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@gareth said:
@mrmikeesq said:
It's not like Google were the perfect people for the job! It's the great software that held everything together.
Both Trimble users I know (both spent an absolute fortune on Trimble stuff!) seem to love the company and it's products, which is a good sign too.
And yes, I'm glad it's not Autodesk.
Indeed, it is the legacy of @last software which has held it's ground......but I have never lost sight of the greatest resource of all, the SketchUp community....and add to that the communities which have sprouted from the vendors of several render plugins and we have everything we need at our fingertips.
Only a few things need to be done under the new ownership :
- Allow the SU development team to improve SU to meet the demands of SU users
- Keep a sensible price point
- Maintain a healthy and vibrant relationship with third party vendors
- Encourage the existence of Forum communities such as this
If not, we will talk with our wallets as soon as someone comes up with a software package which is able to replace SU....i wouldn't want that to happen for sentimental reasons, but lets face it, someone might take it on...!!...it has, after all, been done before.....!!
I look at Acorn or Pixelmator for Mac as near Photoshop replacements, as well as the GIMP, and I would guess that it could be done for 3d. Although I bet patents would be a bigger issue.
I really want to see either an improved LayOut, or a 3rd party solution that makes embedding live models into 2d with dimensions and data... I can care less (at the moment) about BIM and Gis.
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@bmike: Have you tried using DoubleCAD as a Layout alternative ??
P.S.: (I never did try that workflow when I tried out DCXTv2.)
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Sorry if this has been posted (did not see it in the thread) but friend of mine, John Pacyga, shared this article in which a Trimble VP is interviewed and talks about his views on SketchUp:
Trimble: SketchUp fits with decade-long strategy
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@tald311 said:
Sorry if this has been posted (did not see it in the thread) but friend of mine, John Pacyga, shared this article in which a Trimble VP is interviewed and talks about his views on SketchUp:
Trimble: SketchUp fits with decade-long strategy
It's funny how sometimes after reading an interview you wonder what actually is being said. I can't get any wiser out of the words.
“It allows for the integration between architect and designer,"
Huh? between who and who?"It provides us a platform to integrate the architecture community with the design community and the design community with the construction community. We think the value comes from the integration of those pieces."
I wonder what activity architects do as work. Apparently they don't design
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@hfm said:
A good time to start practicing with other software, just to be sure...
Which one? Nothing is like SketchUp. And all the scripts/plugins and models. Jeez! Count me as VERY worried, too.
But then, we still can stay with the current version and ignore any updates. At least, as long we don't run into bugs, that is.
Best would be someone skilled starting to recreate SketchUp as OpenSource. Full API compatibility for models and plugins. Same functionality. All the same. Just from another code. But then, there may be fckng software-patents prohibiting this. I feel bad.
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@kwistenbiebel said:
@tald311 said:
Sorry if this has been posted (did not see it in the thread) but friend of mine, John Pacyga, shared this article in which a Trimble VP is interviewed and talks about his views on SketchUp:
Trimble: SketchUp fits with decade-long strategy
It's funny how sometimes after reading an interview you wonder what actually is being said. I can't get any wiser out of the words.
“It allows for the integration between architect and designer,"
Huh? between who and who?"It provides us a platform to integrate the architecture community with the design community and the design community with the construction community. We think the value comes from the integration of those pieces."
I wonder what activity architects do as work. Apparently they don't design
+1.. my thoughts precisely!
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I think it's merely a question of semantics. All architects are designers...but not all designers are architects.
On a more general note, I don't feel any reason to feel bad about this. It seems pretty clear that SU will be integrated more fully into the AEC pipeline...after years of users here complaining that too much attention was being paid to Google Earth compatibility at the expense of AEC and more general modelling advancements.
The spin-offs from that ought to be of great benefit to designers not in the main pipeline...be they cabinetmakers or interior designers...and to all the little guys in general. And the users of the free version (currently GSU) are already well catered for and have assurances that they will continue to be both valued and supported. If the Trimblers were the hard-headed suits that they're being painted as by some, they would never have agreed to co-host the Warehouse...given that they would have got it from John Bacus and other Boulderados that read these pages, that most Pro users seem to hold the Warehouse in fairly universal disdain.
Trimble seem to be actually taking an interest in the engine itself, which seems to be more than Google ever did. Their interest seems to have extended no further than what use SU could be in populating Google Earth and of making it a household name in order to generate a large enough userbase to accomplish that aim. So maybe we can look forward to a little more coding in C++ rather than relying on the great (but often necessarily slow) Ruby functions...as well as advanced features not currently available. After all, if you're going for a seamless, integrated pipeline, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have pinch-points in that pipeline because one particular stage can't handle or generate the kind of 3D data that other stages depend upon.
I seem to remember John telling me that Google expected SU to effectively pay its own way from the sale of Pro licenses. There were obvious advantages to Google membership...free goodies, a direct plugin to world-class free marketing and exposure; and a handy venue at Mountain View, but the massive injection of R&D cash that many of us expected after the takeover never materialised.
If Trimble are actually interested in the guts of the program itself; and are hoping to extend its capabilities both in the core program and into a wider range of applications, that strikes me as being a good thing.
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@alan fraser said:
Trimble seem to be actually taking an interest in the engine itself, which seems to be more than Google ever did. T....So maybe we can look forward to a little more coding in C++ rather than relying on the great (but often necessarily slow) Ruby functions...as well as advanced features not currently available.
I often think about this.
As much as we want the improvement of the core program of Sketchup, an issue might arise that current ruby coded applets for SU might become incompatible.The power of Sketchup being it's modularity (plugins) might be it's downfall.
Will Trimble have the courage to dig a little deeper than to scratch the ruby code surface, to the risk engravating 3d party developers? (ChaosGroup, Next Limit, etc....)
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@unknownuser said:
but not all designers are architects.
Speaking of semantics... I am a Designer who is not an Architect, although that's only because AIA lobbied for laws that make it illegal to call yourself one if you're not registered or licensed by any one state... Even though Merriam Webster dictionary thinks I am.
Definition of ARCHITECT
The meaning of ARCHITECT is a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction. How to use architect in a sentence.
(www.merriam-webster.com)
@unknownuser said:
Definition of ARCHITECT
1
: a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction
2
: a person who designs and guides a plan or undertaking <the architect of American foreign policy>p.s. per my attorney... I at no time referred to myself as or alluded that I am an Architect.
I might add that I do not begrudge AIA or Architects for protecting their hard work and names from being misused or diluted. I know how much sacrifice and hard work it takes to become a registered Architect.
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@kwistenbiebel said:
Will Trimble have the courage to dig a little deeper than to scratch the ruby code surface, to the risk engravating 3d party developers? (ChaosGroup, Next Limit, etc....)
Despite any possible aggravations, I could only see a reworking of the core structure as a good thing... as long as Trimble is keen on keeping everyone in the API loop. The minute it becomes a rework causing some proprietary incompatibility of the current ruby plugins,
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@krisidious said:
@unknownuser said:
but not all designers are architects.
Speaking of semantics... I am a Designer who is not an Architect, although that's only because AIA lobbied for laws that make it illegal to call yourself one if you're not registered or licensed by any one state... Even though Merriam Webster dictionary thinks I am.
Definition of ARCHITECT
The meaning of ARCHITECT is a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction. How to use architect in a sentence.
(www.merriam-webster.com)
@unknownuser said:
Definition of ARCHITECT
1
: a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction
2
: a person who designs and guides a plan or undertaking <the architect of American foreign policy>p.s. per my attorney... I at no time referred to myself as or alluded that I am an Architect.
I might add that I do not begrudge AIA or Architects for protecting their hard work and names from being misused or diluted. I know how much sacrifice and hard work it takes to become a registered Architect.
Hi Kris,
Licensing laws (that I'm familiar with) requires you to pass an NCARB endorsed exam. To qualify for the exam you must either be a graduate of an accredited university/college and have worked for a licensed architect for a number of years or interned for a longer period of time.
Have you considered taking the exam? There are a number of home study aids as well as classroom opportunities to learn the academic elements.
I know several people who either never completed or attended college but diligently prepared and passed the exam.
You should look into it. Good luck. I'm sure you can do it.
Allen
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@mike lucey said:
I think everyone is enjoying all this speculation. One thing is for sure in my opinion, it is Google that will have the major benefit at the end of the day .... somehow. Mmmmm, maybe we could speculate as to how that might be the case?
I was thinking along this line:
Google was looking for a company that would help Google Earth being populated with very precise models in terms of location and volumes. Currently GE models are "simplified" by users and Google would like to see something way more advanced/automated.
From what I have learned so far, Trimble has an enormous experience and manufactures equipment that could fulfil the demand. Google has sold them the program + SketchUp patent and left 3D Warehouse available for 3D models created using highly improved SketchUp, Trimble 3D scanning technology and (?) cloud computing.
This would explain why other companies (Autodesk) didn't receive a chance to kill our favourite tool. This would mean 64bit, multi-core SketchUp with a support for Trimble's tools and maybe even advanced C++ SDK to work on a models very efficiently.@kwistenbiebel said:
Trimble: SketchUp fits with decade-long strategy
If they are thinking in those terms, in ten years there will be no problem to use very high resolution models of whole cities even on a "laptop".
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If in the future that means getting as-built drawing documentation becomes automated, OMG what a timesaver
... or another read of this is robotics comes to architecture, putting people out of work
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I think someone posted here: a TED presentation showing drones that fly around in a building and map it in 3d. So it's coming along. Regarding SU, We can guess and dream all we want til then....
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The SketchUp buyout seems like it can be a terrible thing for all of the people who have been able to ride the tide of inexpensive, intuitive and fast 3d modeling for the masses. SketchUp has changed the 3d modeling sphere forever and it pains me to think that all of the hard work and involvement of massive communities of users around the globe are quite possibly about to get squeezed for their potential like so many overgrown ripe grapes.
I'm wondering if they are going to go the route of Bonzai3d, incorporating the BIM aspects mentioned above and how that will change the entire process that every single SU user relies heavily on now.
Well, we shall see, i guess. In any case, SketchUp has been a game changer by truley bringing 3d modeling to the masses and delivering them from the previous industry standard programs such as Max, etc. that have become behemoths of the industry and quite pricey for such a large learning curve.
I can only hope that things go well and we get to experience a rebirth and rejuvination of SketchUp... that wont cost us too, too much.
bob
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Interesting, just posted on FB by Trimble:
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From the Article - Trimble: SketchUp fits with decade-long strategy:
"Today, there is not a good facilitation from the data captured in the field through the workflow to the various back offices of the design and architecture firms and out again through to the contractor who is actually performing the work. "This is what I was hoping to hear. Having a clear consistent work flow and easy to obtain and manage data to create a model based on existing conditions is the missing piece. Google Earth Road View, aerials and terrain hinted at the possibilities but was never enough to get into the meat of design. The data was not clear or clean - pasting photos of buildings on surfaces is not accuracy nor is 50' interval terrain data.
Pipe dream but if I could obtain a 3D Site Survey and use it to model that would be amazing. AutoDesk Labs has been playing around with it as is the TIG3D Plugin. Take snap shot and create instant model.
Then on the other end, when doing CA, if your in the field, grab your camera or ipad, take a snap shot of detail in construction, have it transformed into 3D SketchUp and sent off as an annotated RFI to designer/ back to the office, would be another aspect.
Its about data integration and making it useful, at least to me. My own speculation, hopes and dreams.
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