A new home for SketchUp
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@unknownuser said:
I would instantly ignore anyone who referred to SU as a toy, but I think that SUers who refer to 3DW as a "repository of crap" are just as ignorant.
Okay! potato potaato.
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@johnsenior1973 said:
I think that there are hundreds of thousands of models that are crap. But I think that it's relatively easy to sift through and quickly find fantastic models that are easily usable.
OK, so you agree.
But sometimes those fantastic models are just not there. That's why there's formfonts
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@mike lucey said:
I doubt very much there was ever a chance that this could have happened. To 'buy' something, it has to be made available to one in the first place at a consideration!
Mike, EVERYTHING is for sale!!!
I can tell you a stack of stories of knocking on people's doors to ask if they want to sell out to a developer and it almost always starts with "NO!". A few weeks later the surveyors are on site!
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Richard,
I think the full saying is, Everything is for sale, for the right price! The tail makes a big difference.
From what I read and I have been reading an awful lot about this happening over the past few days, Google don't seem to have ever been in the asset selling game, they buy and it looks like when the purchase no longer fits into their plan its shelved to gather dust rather than re-sold, possibly giving competitors an edge. Makes sense if a company can afford to do it.
Take Bump Top for example bought and shelved by Google. I first saw it on TED, Anand Agarawala demos Bump Top on TED http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEgQtwIwBA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fanand_agarawala_demos_his_bumptop_desktop.html&ei=JNCgT4K2IMOx0AXw4OiCCA&usg=AFQjCNFIqBQ-L8d8YB4VT2aw_aXJbh6olw&sig2=CtnpNMo6eRgw8sPLlzllOw
I was fortunate to be an early adopter and purchased a Pro license and have been using it for a couple of year now. BTW, its also got the 'fun factor' a rare thing in utility software.
Then there's the well know fact that you can't buy Killarney! How Can You Buy Killarney
http://www.kovideo.net/how-can-you-buy-killarney-lyrics-josef-locke-446579.html If you want to take a break and listen to Joe sing it, http://youtu.be/fO_p-4f9YUA Although the way this country is going at the moment, it would not surprise me if Killarney was sold to pay the Bond Holders!Back on track. Its been reported that this is the first time Google have actually sold an asset. Maybe the 'times they are a changing!' but I doubt it. Join the dots and see the picture!
Mike
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@andybot said:
I do have to agree Autodesk would have been wise to buy it, from a market standpoint.
But given the sentiments aired around here they would have to factor in a shrinking user base for the anyone-but-autodesk software users which would devalue the purchase. Maybe that's why their buyouts fail?
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If that is the case, then the only thing that makes sense is that Trimble has something Google wants badly -- which means this deal is really about something else, and SketchUp was thrown in to make the deal go through.
Best,
Jason. -
Time will tell
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Good read John, thanks for posting. I think the author is making a bad comparison though. SU is not a parametric 3D program and probably never will be. It seems that 123D, being based on Inventor, is geared to a different audience. Its file export formats point to this as well. One can do "part" design on SU but there might be a better tool for that need. I would also not look to 123D to model a house facade. Sure I can drive that nail in with the side of a wrench but why would I want too?
@jbacus said:
Another good perspective from the CAD industry press. I'm sure Roopinder would appreciate it if you guys read his post and gave him your thoughts on the deal.
john
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@unknownuser said:
SU is not a parametric 3D program and probably never will be.
It's partially parametric. You can change edge length from the Entity window, arc segments - there is Dynamic Components - there are plugins that generates parametric geometry (I made a utah teapot plugin with parametric properties - I'm working on Bezier Surface where meshes are parametrically controlled with bezier curves and modifiers.)
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@thomthom said:
@unknownuser said:
SU is not a parametric 3D program and probably never will be.
It's partially parametric. You can change edge length from the Entity window, arc segments - there is Dynamic Components - there are plugins that generates parametric geometry (I made a utah teapot plugin with parametric properties - I'm working on Bezier Surface where meshes are parametrically controlled with bezier curves and modifiers.)
Thomthom Have you seen this thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmFnq4_MkaY
Very inspiring. -
Very interesting!
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@rv1974 said:
@thomthom said:
@unknownuser said:
SU is not a parametric 3D program and probably never will be.
It's partially parametric. You can change edge length from the Entity window, arc segments - there is Dynamic Components - there are plugins that generates parametric geometry (I made a utah teapot plugin with parametric properties - I'm working on Bezier Surface where meshes are parametrically controlled with bezier curves and modifiers.)
Thomthom Have you seen this thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmFnq4_MkaY
Very inspiring.Thats pretty cool!
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@rv1974 said:
@thomthom said:
@unknownuser said:
SU is not a parametric 3D program and probably never will be.
It's partially parametric. You can change edge length from the Entity window, arc segments - there is Dynamic Components - there are plugins that generates parametric geometry (I made a utah teapot plugin with parametric properties - I'm working on Bezier Surface where meshes are parametrically controlled with bezier curves and modifiers.)
Thomthom Have you seen this thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmFnq4_MkaY
Very inspiring.How much??? ($$$$$)
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@thomthom said:
it's partially parametric. You can change edge length from the Entity window, arc segments - there is Dynamic Components - there are plugins that generates parametric geometry (I made a utah teapot plugin with parametric properties - I'm working on Bezier Surface where meshes are parametrically controlled with bezier curves and modifiers.)
cool, I will check those out. But what about sending those models to be created? Like to a 3D printer. Sure not all need that but some do. A stl file from SU will be all but useless from my understanding. Thanks for the info.
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Guys,
On first viewing the Trimble site, it sends a cold shiver down a lot of our spines as it looks more or less to be by Engineers for Engineers and we all know those guys just want the straight facts with no frills.
However if you go through the trouble of delving deeper it offers some insight into the ethos of one of the founders who's name was taken up as the company name. Of course the man was a Mr Trimble, in this case a Charles R. Trimble the President and CEO, now retired and currently on the Project Steering Committee for the Small Business Innovation Research Program under the National Academies.
It appears to me that one of his legacies at Trimble is the Small Business Program
Its positive to see such a program on the Trimble site, so I think this offers some more hope that SketchUp could well be going to a decent new home, but at the same time, one that looks like it could do with some serious cheering up. Maybe SketchUp with its diverse community might be what is needed to achieve this? At the end of the day to my way of thinking, companies are all about people or should be!
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@jbacus said:
Another good perspective from the CAD industry press. I'm sure Roopinder would appreciate it if you guys read his post and gave him your thoughts on the deal.
john
.I just commented there:
@unknownuser said:
dear roopinder,
for a CAD insider you are not exactly well informed. otherwise you would know that only a small part of Sketchup's user base fits into the category of DIYsts or hobbyists. much on the contrary, Sketchup is used professionally all over the world for modeling complex stuff, rendering, animation and even for making construction drawings in 2D (using its companion app LayOut).
regards, -
We have obviously been discussing this over at FormFonts over the last few days...as it has a direct impact on our own business. We've also been discussing the article at CAD Insider that John linked to (which seems to have been written by someone who is anything but an insider...at least as far as SU and Trimble is concerened)
Our CEO Fred Abler had some very interesting observations on this acquisition, which he doesn't mind sharing with the wider SU community, so here's the gist of what he had to say in a recent email;-
"Alan, I agree with you, the author of this ‘insider’ article is a little behind the beat...
First, It’s unlikely that Autodesk even knew SketchUp was for sale. Though rumours were flying, Google has never before sold one of its divisions (to my knowledge)and Trimble has a much deeper relationship with Google/Google Maps than most people realize, including (probably) the ‘Desk.
Second, had Autodesk actually known SketchUp was in play, they still wouldn’t have bought it. As noted, Autodesk has competing products, some of which are free. The SketchUp acquisition would have killed their sunk investment in these products, and all but confessed judgement to the marketplace - that SketchUp was a vastly superior product, and software architecture.
FormFonts has observed AEC project delivery for many years, and our mantra is...
"It's “SketchUp to Win-it”.. and Revit to BIM-it”.Another ‘blocker’ on this deal is that Autodesk is having real trouble implementing Revit-as-BIM . This is not Autodesk's fault. BIM is a true disruptive technology that requires gut-wrenching changes through the whole project delivery pipeline. The consequence of this is :-
A whole lot of folks out there are using Revit-as-SketchUp. So, had The 'Desk bought SketchUp, it would have blocked their on-ramp for selling Revit, and completely killed their momentum.Nevertheless, this is probably exactly what Autodesk should have done... if only to keep SketchUp out of the hands of a formidable (hiding in plain sight) competitor like Trimble. Autodesk is a very good company these days, and had they known SketchUp was really for sale, and actually had the time to do the due-diligence, things may have come out very differently.
I think the real question behind John's post is, "Would we even want Autodesk to own SketchUp?" As I point out in my blog post SketchUp 3.0, I think we’re all going to be happy that it's Trimble who will own SketchUp (by the end of May).
Trimble’s prowess in Engineering and Construction combined with SketchUp's massive share of early project design and visualization in Architecture, together... ‘bookends’ the entire A-E-C market (and project delivery pipeline). AEC is a multi-trillion dollar market, even in a down-down economy."
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@rv1974 said:
@thomthom said:
@unknownuser said:
SU is not a parametric 3D program and probably never will be.
It's partially parametric. You can change edge length from the Entity window, arc segments - there is Dynamic Components - there are plugins that generates parametric geometry (I made a utah teapot plugin with parametric properties - I'm working on Bezier Surface where meshes are parametrically controlled with bezier curves and modifiers.)
Thomthom Have you seen this thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmFnq4_MkaY
Very inspiring.
That's the way the whole modeling world is going. parametric modeling synergy with freestyle modeling, they both have advantages on their own. And here come siemens PLM synchronous technology, others companies have their own name.But seem like every lines are curve controlled by points, even straight line, to do those manipulations. Siemens adapted Sub-D modeling techniques to nurbs, form can also be controlled with cages like FFD.
Also, t-splines is interesting too. It allowed one to do Nurb using polygon modeling techniques.
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I think Google strategicly sold to Trimble, who sells Tekla that competes with Revit. Sketchup in Trimble's hands will not be handed over to AutoDesk anytime soon. Probably the makers of Archicad, Vectorworks and so on in the CAD market were not expected to be able to buy Sketchup. Others might have been tempted to speculate on selling later on to AutoDesk.
I think the Sketchup team did not want to be part of AutoDesk and they might have had a say in this. With Trimble the Sketchup team has a good chance of staying intact. Trimble has no comparable product that can absorb Sketchup. So a good chance is that Sketchup will simply develop further and now with more recources.
Francois
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