SU Viewer 8 (mac) requirements
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Does anyone know whether the new SU Viewer 8 will run on a G4?
(can't find any info on the SU Help site)
Or is it the same as SU 8 and will only run on Intel processor - as I would assume?I know I can always save a model as SU7 to view on my old 12" G4 Powerbook, but would be nice if I didn't have to anymore.
By the way was Viewer 8 just released? (with the maintenance update?)
Seems to me the last time I checked (a few weeks back), only Viewer 7 was available.Thanks,
Doug
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Doug,
As of SketchUp 8.0, we only support Intel CPUs on Mac. That means, no more PowerPC architecture (G3, G4, G5 CPUs) for any of the SketchUp software (SketchUp, Style Builder, LayOut, SketchUp Viewer).
Ending support for various CPU architecture, OS platforms and older graphics cards is always a bummer for someone, but it's a simple necessity of ongoing software development. Due to Apple abandoning their support for PowerPC (they did it before we did, actually), and the number of PPC users remaining in the world shrinking considerably every day, we ultimately determined that our engineering resources would be best spent pressing ahead with new technology instead of spreading our people thin to keep the PPC platform in-tact.
The decision to drop support PPC is similar in spirit to the decisions to disallow Windows 2000 in v7, to require at least SP2 for Windows XP in v7.1, and also recently changing the minimum MacOS version to 10.5. You see, at some point, the amount of extra work required to keep old platforms running, and the number of new and improved features that developers miss out on using by maintaining backward compatibility become too much to bear and we have to raise the bar.
As for the SU Viewer release schedule, ever since Google acquired SketchUp and started making the basic version free for anyone to download, the SU Viewer (which is only available in English now also) has become nearly obsolete. We know there are a few hangers-on who would argue against that, but the fact is that when push comes to shove and we don't have enough development or testing resources to go around, the SU Viewer will always get the short end of the stick. That's why it wasn't released at the same time as SketchUp 8.0 back in September.
Andrew
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If the development of the viewer takes resources away from the development of the full application, I am all for scrapping it altogether.
In the days of SU 3 or 4 when the hardware requirements of the viewer were less than those of the full app, and when you could burn the viewer together with model files on a CD, and it would run from there without installation, it had a limited usability as a client presentation tool, but since the arrival of the free full version it is rather obsolete.
For modellers concerned with their intellectual property rights versus their clients, there are better read-only alternatives available, like the 3D PDF format, as a full model file sent is always to a degree a model file set free, regardless whether the recipient is aware of the existence of a free version of SU.
Anssi
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I would actually like to see a LayOut viewer instead. Especially if it could password protect the layout file (it can be done; Adam Billyard did it for the LightUp Player which uses "luca" files that are also "renamed" zip files like layout after all).
LO has a nice presentation tool but it is limited to licensed Pro versions and you cannot always make presentations from your own computer.
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Andrew, thanks for taking the time to reply and explain.
@andrews said:
As of SketchUp 8.0, we only support Intel CPUs on Mac.
I knew that was the case for the full version, and suspected that it would be so for the viewer as well). Was just hoping that I might be able to continue to use my old G4 PowerBook as a presentation/site device with clients and subs.
The other use is in having a simplified application for the client to download on their own machine when you aren't physically present to walk them through it. A skin on the full app that hid the complexity and all but the navigation controls would accomplish the same thing.
IOW, SU opens on first use in interface 'viewer mode', with a toggle for 'drawing mode' (which would enable full menus / toolbars), would obviate the need for a viewer for this use case.@anssi said:
If the development of the viewer takes resources away from the development of the full application, I am all for scrapping it altogether.
I would put it differently: if Viewer development takes away resources that could be put to developing a new iOS/tablet viewer -for my iPad to come- then scrap it! (...not that Goggle will admit to any such development, if they were)
@gaieus said:
I would actually like to see a LayOut viewer instead.
When I eventually upgrade to SU Pro, I may be on board with you there - but not at the expense of an iOS / Android viewer.
Thanks for the responses.
Doug
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@andrews said:
Doug,
As of SketchUp 8.0, we only support Intel CPUs on Mac. That means, no more PowerPC architecture (G3, G4, G5 CPUs) for any of the SketchUp software (SketchUp, Style Builder, LayOut, SketchUp Viewer).
Ending support for various CPU architecture, OS platforms and older graphics cards is always a bummer for someone, but it's a simple necessity of ongoing software development. Due to Apple abandoning their support for PowerPC (they did it before we did, actually), and the number of PPC users remaining in the world shrinking considerably every day, we ultimately determined that our engineering resources would be best spent pressing ahead with new technology instead of spreading our people thin to keep the PPC platform in-tact.
The decision to drop support PPC is similar in spirit to the decisions to disallow Windows 2000 in v7, to require at least SP2 for Windows XP in v7.1, and also recently changing the minimum MacOS version to 10.5. You see, at some point, the amount of extra work required to keep old platforms running, and the number of new and improved features that developers miss out on using by maintaining backward compatibility become too much to bear and we have to raise the bar.
As for the SU Viewer release schedule, ever since Google acquired SketchUp and started making the basic version free for anyone to download, the SU Viewer (which is only available in English now also) has become nearly obsolete. We know there are a few hangers-on who would argue against that, but the fact is that when push comes to shove and we don't have enough development or testing resources to go around, the SU Viewer will always get the short end of the stick. That's why it wasn't released at the same time as SketchUp 8.0 back in September.
Andrew
Good thing there are only two operating systems in the universe.
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@db11 said:
@gaieus said:
I would actually like to see a LayOut viewer instead.
When I eventually upgrade to SU Pro, I may be on board with you there - but not at the expense of an iOS / Android viewer...
Yeah, I could also imagine a(more) cross-platform viewer. And of course, this (suggested-to-be) LO viewer should be free (just like the SU Viewer used to be free when it was only SU "Pro" at @Last times)
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Helllp !
Anybody know where I can find an old v7 Viewer for a client who has an old mac G4 ???
Thanks...
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