A new home for SketchUp

[johnsenior1973]

@frv said:

1. Skethup was sold since Google now also understands that modeling the whole world is a bad concept. Scanning is the future.

[Krisidious]

@unknownuser said:

Skethup was sold since Google now also understands that modeling the whole world is a bad concept. Scanning is the future.

you cannot scan what has not been designed... tools may change but design will always exist.

[frv]

To Krisidious
Google used SU as a tool. That is to let a 3D world grow by itself using millions of users to model. That worked to a certain degree. But as a 3D information model for the planet the concept failed. Scanning these days does provide the info and incredibly fast.

To Starling
Skunkworks could work very well. But @Last and Apple and many more had or have a "skunk" at the top leading. I am sure lots of skunkworks achievements in so many of companies see their work dismissed. I remember the iPad being reviewed and dismissed by CEO's of a majority of IT companies.

Imagine Apple taken over by Hewlett Packard a decade ago with Steve in a "skunkworks" arangement. Or Facebook by MS with Mark in charge of the skunkworks group of enthousiasts.
The fact is that, however great Sketchup is and was, the founders were not of the same quality the former mentioned ones are. Steve and Mark could not be bought. Another example is Drew Houston (http://www.simplyzesty.com/technology/how-dropbox-turned-down-steve-jobs-and-apple/ ). Mark, Steve and Drew want to be independent to make the best product they can because they know that is the only way to feel the same drive.

The fact remains however optimistic you are that Sketchup has a developers team that is not independent. They dance to the music as set out by Google and now Trimble.
As a positive note, I think Trimble sounds better.

[Starling75]

@frv said:

..... Mark, Steve and Drew want to be independent to make the best product they can because they know that is the only way to feel the same drive.

Another example .. http://youtu.be/H3u0IIQj6FY

[Krisidious]

what I'm saying is you can't scan my house until it's designed...

[Mike Lucey]

I wonder how far away the day is when designers will just have to attach some electrodes and start 'think modeling' the design?

[Alan Fraser]

@mike lucey said:

I wonder how far away the day is when designers will just have to attach some electrodes and start 'think modeling' the design?

We'll end up with lots of buildings looking like this.

[Marian]

@alan fraser said:

We'll end up with lots of buildings looking like this.

I think you're optimistic

[Mike Lucey]

http://www.emotiv.com/index.php

[solo]

@alan fraser said:

@mike lucey said:

I wonder how far away the day is when designers will just have to attach some electrodes and start 'think modeling' the design?

We'll end up with lots of buildings looking like this.

Boobies.

[chrisglasier]

@alan fraser said:

@mike lucey said:

I wonder how far away the day is when designers will just have to attach some electrodes and start 'think modeling' the design?

We'll end up with lots of buildings looking like this.

An interesting part of this is how to convert the think modelling into computer commands to produce models and/or the real thing. Make booby x 2 is not good enough but defining appropriate design criteria might just make think modelling the next big thing. Not quite sure if OT but certainly enough for a tremble.

[ArCAD-UK]

@mike lucey said:

http://www.emotiv.com/index.php

Intersting product and relatively cheap price point, well cheaper than I expected. Try before you buy might be a prerequisite for some people!

I personally would like to see Kinect developed to replace my mouse. It could be almost like physically building lifting windows into place etc and a lot healthier than sitting here getting lazy and developing RSI! With Trimble's gadget focus maybe that interface could be a possibility?

[Alan Fraser]

I'm not sure that thought modelling is such a great idea...although I'm sure it will arrive at some point. Many of the best artistic solutions are the result of 'happy accidents' as we try to imperfectly replicate on paper what's in our heads. In most cases these surpass the original vision.

If all that thought modelling achieves is to save the trouble of moving a mouse or trackball around, then that's even worse. A generation ago, many designers spent all day standing at a drafting table. Not only did this involve moving all of both arms around (not just the fingers and wrist of one hand) but it also entailed constant, unconscious shifting of weight. This exercises the legs, the abdomen and the back muscles in a small but relentless manner. It's positively aerobic compared to what goes on today.

Human Evolution.

[jason_maranto]

A bit off topic, but I love this chair (which I use at my studio) for this very reason -- in encourages a ton of movement and keeps muscles working all day.

Best,
Jason.

[jeff hammond]

more gestures , less pointing at things on the screen with a mouse/keyboard.

I know it probably sounds meh to most people right now but I believe it's the future. apple's implementation is already very good but they're keeping it sort of basic for now.. I think it's in the stepping stone phase..

[Rich O Brien]

more detail Jeff...?

I recently used Mike's Mac and I must admit the tactile nature of swiping, shrinking etc., is a very natural task. If SketchUp was to recognize swipes/pinches that would be cool. I don't want to draw just undo/cut/copy/hide/unhide...basic repeatable tasks

I used that CAD Control app for the iPad at times but I just didn't adopt to it.

[pbacot]

We used to have such programs, called draftspersons (formally draftsmen). These programs understood the designers' mind and created drawings and feedback consistent with the designers' style and other design directions that could be input by simple sketches, naming traditional styles, vague cultural references, and even hand gestures.

(Unfortunately they were very expensive, had unaccountable downtime, and could be unstable at times.)

[Dan Rathbun]

Neo... follow the white rabbit.

[findthong]

Or the other way around ... work 1 hour a day, go to gym for couple of hours and learn more interesting things and get a life

I want to say technologies can empowered the users, at all level. Architects license still need for long time, there must be someone who do judgement and take resposibility, which computer can't do for sure.

Let's see this research, very interesting they use SketchUp also:
http://vladlen.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/architecture-video.mov
http://vladlen.org/projects/procedural-modeling/
http://vladlen.org/papers/architecture-slides.pdf - Slides

Rhino's grasshopper users may familiar with this. I see many generate 1,000+ schematic design to find the best planning, design that fit context, ROI, energy reservation, etc, all done with these AI. But at the end of the day, it's the architect who realized it.

Updated: From the slides, it seem the demo house use up to 100,000 iterations by the AI!!! I'm love my brain so much now

In theory, any thing that can systemetically explained can become procedural.
Do you noticed that there're patterns even our everyday life ?
It's good to have pattern, so we can focus our time on useful stuffs. These AI also.

[findthong]

Trimble, let's buy this team it is a very nice companion with SketchUp!
I wish I can model a pretty decent rabbit in a few minutes for years.
Otherwise, I bet Autodesk or Pixology would get it pretty fast

RigMesh: putting the fun back into rigging
http://youtu.be/HbOXMuwQlyE
http://www.cgchannel.com/category/news/

Download for Free!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4964558/rigmesh_v1.01.zip
(official links, they're so new and even don't settled a website yet!)