A new home for SketchUp

chrisglasier

... When I told him that I use Google Sketchup he could not even hide his amusement. ...

This reminded me of an aspiring Captain of Industry telling me in 1995 in no uncertain terms that the City considered the Internet a joke, a plaything, a passing fad.

I think it will not be too long before "Still using Autocad" will be derogative de rigeur. Re-branding may get Sketchup to help along the path but inevitably HTML5 and all that becomes the norm - which of course has no brand at all.

Technical Ben

I'll shed a tear when Sketchup is no more. Trimble does not sound "right" right now. Something that Google had (and was committed to) is missing. I feel quite angry Google passed on the project really.

thomthom

@technical ben said:

I'll shed a tear when Sketchup is no more. Trimble does not sound "right" right now. Something that Google had (and was committed to) is missing. I feel quite angry Google passed on the project really.

Committed to? They hardly did anything to it - mostly implemented connections with Google services. SketchUp development was much more pronounced pre-Google.

Gaieus

@technical ben said:

...I feel quite angry Google passed on the project really.

Much better this way than if they'd shelved SU and stopped development forever without letting anyone else do it. At least the future is open now (which means that there is also future at least)

Marian

So...any news on concrete direction changes or new features planned? It's been a while since they were bought.

sketch3d.de

@marian said:

It's been a while since they were bought.

<kidding mode>already 4 long weeks and no results... seems that development stalls</kidding mode>

scnr

Rich O Brien

A Maintenance release

A WebGL viewer

A new office

A new Gallery

yes, things are pretty static alright

If you were moving house would you have time for anything else? But SU team seem to be burning the candle at both ends. Also if you follow they're twitter and JBacus Google+ you get other info. Like a recent trip to Helsinki for example which is also the home of Tekla. So, read into that as you want.

I think it's unfair to say things are static when they are in a state of flux.

Marian

Well it's been announced in April. Although the acquisition was completed a month ago, they had plenty of time to think, no?

I didn't say they should have already rolled out a new version of SU, I asked for something sensible, news on any orientation changes, not a detailed plan on taking over the world...
It's been months since this "thing" happened and we still don't have many certainties.

I didn't say things were static, I asked for more iinformation on the direction they are going. If you're satisfied with what you know, that's fine.

I'm a bit anxious, but mostly curious.

Rich O Brien

@Marian

My comment wasn't meant for you. I agree more news is needed. Did you read the interview in catchup with John? He gave some snippets about where they are headed.

My personal opinion is that SketchUp will remain as it always has. Fun and free to those who want to enjoy it. The Pro version will get more bells and whistles for the AEC industry.

thomthom

@rich o brien said:

The Pro version will get more bells and whistles for the AEC industry.

My impression is that it will be more in the form of extensions.

Rich O Brien

@thomthom said:

My impression is that it will be more in the form of extensions.

Looks like I'll be learning ruby then. I've this idea for a Bezier Surface plugin that turns SU meshes into Rhino-esque NURBS

Marian

Sorry Rich.
Yeah, I read the interview. I have a similar opinion as yours, but would still be nice to know a little a more. I'm not as worried as I was at first and I know SU will not die in the near future.
To be honest I want to feel excited that my favourite program is becoming something cooler,better,etc.

sketch3d.de

@marian said:

Well it's been announced in April.

26.04. ~ 8 weeks today

@marian said:

It's been months since this "thing" happened and we still don't have many certainties.

I'm not sure if we do have a claim on certainities , normally the people owning the stuff and doin' the work are defining what and when.

@marian said:

If you're satisfied with what you know, that's fine.

that's not the question and being keen on resp. asking for news is fine of course, demanding probably not.

am sure that there will be some more new infos in the not so far future.

N.

mac1

Seven Stages of a Project;
Wild Enthusiasm;
Well Take It Form Here;
Total Confusion;
Disillusionment;
The Search For The Guilty;
Punishment Of The Innocent;
Promotion Of The Non-PArticipants

brookefox

Nice. Can anybody play?

Where do I fit in?

Seven Stages of a Project

Wild Enthusiasm
Well Take It Form Here
Total Confusion
Disillusionment
The Search For The Guilty
Punishment Of The Innocent
Promotion Of The Non-Participants

andybot

@brookefox said:

Nice. Can anybody play?

Where do I fit in?

Seven Stages of a Project

Wild Enthusiasm

Well Take It Form Here

Total Confusion

Disillusionment

The Search For The Guilty

Punishment Of The Innocent

Promotion Of The Non-Participants

sounds like #3 to me

jason_maranto

I already went through all 7 stages -- what now?

Best,
Jason.

Mike Lucey

Guys,

I'd say JohnB and the team will be making SU fly once theft have found their feet, says he sitting at a bar using his iPad on WiFi (pronounced 'wife fee')

Mike

Michaelv

@rich o brien said:

Also if you follow they're twitter and JBacus Google+ you get other info. Like a recent trip to Helsinki for example which is also the home of Tekla. So, read into that as you want.

Yep, what I read into that, which is both logical (from the trip and from being a Trimble product) and expected is a potential further specialization of SU into BIM or other building construction application software.
And that is what personally I have some apprehension over (the over specialization)

Granted SU was and is great for building makers and that is the main engine that brought it to where it is today, but its general exposure and usefulness has seen it widely used for many many other things (see thread on uses).
It was already a little bit skewed towards architectural as many plugins were also specific, and that's perfectly fine and normal, even great as it gave SU an engine to run.

However the strength and power is also its specific ability to be flexible and NOT specialized. Its ability to be customized (through plugins) for whatever specific purpose one may have, yet to be the bottom line tool one uses for any application one may think of. Going from building a nice house one day, to creating a 3D fantasy character the next, while creating 2D drawing for technical illustration in between.
I hope it will not loose that character. The pressure of building makers is great and understandable as they are the majority users it seems, and all I'm hoping is that they are served very well and better by this but not at the detriment of flexibility.

In particular if there is any remaining ambition to have SU stand tall in the CAD sphere, as a specific objective, beyond just being a useful tool in Trimble's aggregate strategy, mechanical engineering tools and others (3d shaping, etc..) shall be kept alive and kicking, maybe even pushed to balance the stronger and stronger pull of the bright side of the force (the building makers)

Just, and still, hoping. Dreaming of CAM, CFD and FEA plugins (the latter two BTW being also very useful to the building industry (wind and heating studies, structural design, etc..))

fredo6

There is an interesting article, well written and illustrated, about why Google sold Sketchup. The fact is that Google's project to have millions users model the earth was not practicable and that new stereo technology could handle it more consistently.

(www.mastersketchup.com)

Fredo

PS: for me that's not a sufficient reason anyway. There would have been other ways for Google to exploit the power of Sketchup.