Wishlist SU 8... Let's not !

tomot

@l.frisken said:

how does one communicate with google about these issues?

I guess first there is a need to demonstrate a consensus within SCF ...

Chris its hard to build a consensus now. The various users of SU have expanded to too many other areas, after it was bought by Google. I'm still one of the old Architectural type users. I don't need Webdialogs nor do I have a need to play games within SketchUp via Web dialogs, but perhaps a few need that option.

If you want to communicate with Google try: Scott Lininger, SketchUp Software Engineer you can PM him via:
http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=13666

chrisglasier

@tomot said:

Chris its hard to build a consensus now. The various users of SU have expanded to too many other areas, after it was bought by Google.

The consensus I am seeking is on an appropriate relationship with Google given the diversity of interests of Sketchup users (as you say) and the singularity of purpose of the Sketchup owner (recently emphasised by me in this topic).

@unknownuser said:

I don't need Webdialogs nor do I have a need to play games within SketchUp via Web dialogs, but perhaps a few need that option.

Yes I can understand you link webdialogs only with games, but similar links were made in the past with the introduction of personal computers - "just toys for hobbyists to play around with." If during the design process, you contact manufacturers or suppliers via phone, fax or website, then in the future webdialogs may well offer you a more direct and useful method to interact with them.

Thanks for the note about Scott Lininger. First I want to see if anything transpires in Mike Lucey's topic, to which I contributed something similar to here.

My regards

Chris

tomot

@chrisglasier said:

Yes I can understand you link webdialogs only with games, but similar links were made in the past with the introduction of personal computers - "just toys for hobbyists to play around with." If during the design process, you contact manufacturers or suppliers via phone, fax or website, then in the future webdialogs may well offer you a more direct and useful method to interact with them.
Chris

I didn't link webdialogs to games. It was Scott's introduction of how webdialogs and Ruby will allow us to play games within SU. Its his example not mine.
However there seems to be a prevailing attitude today among programmers and large companies in the software industry that they think they can make life easier for users if they can link more and more features into their product. It reminds me of the shopping mall we visit instead of the corner store. Hence a simple product like Nero which burn CD/DVD's becomes Bloatware. Why Adobe Reader now has ballooned to take up 85MB of HDD space. Or why AutoCad that once came on 6 * 1.44 diskettes (remember what they were?) now comes on a DVD. To this date none of these products functions in any better than they did when they were first introduced, and just like SU the changes over time are barely preceptable.

chrisglasier

@tomot said:

I didn't link webdialogs to games. It was Scott's introduction of how webdialogs and Ruby will allow us to play games within SU. Its his example not mine.

Yes I first found out about them from his video almost a year ago. It was this that prompted me to look into Sketchup to provide 3d displays for my namesets project.

@tomot said:

However there seems to be a prevailing attitude today among programmers and large companies in the software industry that they think they can make life easier for users if they can link more and more features into their product ...

I agree but there needs to be an alternative to counteract that. My idea is to link the names of physical aspects of the real world in hierarchies; each name is linked to a tiny plain text file of name/value pairs defining its own parameters. So most of the 'features' (more like know-how) are provided by those experienced in various activities. The main point is that in this way IT moves into the province of us all, with practitioners structuring their own Information and Technology providing the mechanisms for its exchange.This might also provide a platform for consensus.

@tomot said:

... 1.44 diskettes (remember what they were?)

Can't resist fond memories! My first PC was a dual drive Apricot, boasting DOS 1.0 and SuperCalc 1.0 which unusual for that time came on 3.5in 250k stiffies (as opposed to 5.25in floppies)

Hope you find something here of interest.

Chris