Just to be sure I'm understanding correctly, could you post an example?

I just want to thank you all for this thread. It has been a great learning experience.

The last few posts are extremely interesting, with great ideas.
But I can't help but pose the question... Do you think it is feasible to be only partially BIM integrated? A kind of BIM lite?

This is a good question, but actually quite complex.
There is what is called the Color Rendering Index. Which is a rating index that represents how well a color renders under the type of lighting that is illuminating it.
But there is also color theory.
And then there is the way computers simulate color.
There lots of info out there on both, but, I'm wondering if your question is more directed at color combinations that would fall more under "Color Trends", or if you are interested in how color and color theory can be used to enhance renderings?

I'd Love to see on of those live!

I think I would probably have read my textbooks if they had these

I'm not familiar with 20-20, but I had a look. Looks like a nice product, although there doesn't seem to be a mac version.
I was looking at their Design Select, and came across this...
So it looks as if this product has an importer that supports SketchUp.
I guess it is always the quality of the import that is the question.
I think a lot of folks on this forum would be interested in this, so keep us appraised.

Actually Jeff, Don't underestimate this law. I have invoked it and it has worked.
Since 1989 in the US, (slightly different in Canada), you don't actually have to even mark the "work" in question with a copyright symbol, to have intellectual rights over it, and you do not have to register it.
In our case we found out a client intended to duplicate a residence we designed for him.
All we did was send him documentation on what our rights are under the Intellectual Properties/ copyrights legislation, and informed him that either we would negotiate a fee for the use of our work, or we would take action.
And in this case we negotiated a fee, and moved on.
Does that mean people can't and won't steal your work and use it, no, and since there is a kind of self policing required, you have to be aware that the infringement is, has, or will take place.
But I encourage people to, if you are aware of wrongful use of your work, to act on this, by sending the parties that intend to use your work information on what your rights are as the creator of the work.
Oh, and this is an international convention signed onto by many countries.
At least know your rights.
Here is some info: http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/iprm/

2 Questions
Have you purged unused components? ( Window /Model Info / Statistics /Purged Unused)
Are the Layers that the stuff you have deleted still there? AutoCad uses lots of Layers. If they are still there try deleting them, and you'll note that sometimes the dialogue box that appears says there are still objects on that Layer, even though you thought they were gone.
Good luck.

I've always loved this one. It's so tactile.
More here http://www.restorationhardware.com/search/results.jsp?start=25

That looks damn fine!

Stunning.

Woah, nice job

@thomthom said:

If this thread turns into yet another 64bit discussion I'm invoking Godwin's Law!

I had to look that up. I wanted to know if it meant being stripped of my credentials and forced to read a confession on Youtube for mentioning "it"

Think of BIM as a manual of a building, that can be referenced for the full life of that building. And in the early stages, a platform that can ensure that the building will perform up to the standards it is touted to.
We do that now, but it is all fragmented, and requires referencing outside the documentation of the building.
So if your a facilities manager now, and you have a mechanical problem. You go to the blueprints, find the reference to the mechanical page, and when you get to it you will find written words that tell you that the problem is a Honeywell A2446 pump. Trouble is the change order that authorized the Grundfoss pump your looking at isn't necessarily stapled to the page, so it's really worthless to you, so you begin your search.
In a BIM world the full set of electronic documents, would not only contain the page with the pump on it, but BIM management would have required the changeout documented, and when you drill down, the pump itself would be a full set of schematic diagrams, so you could get the part number for faulty O-ring and get it ordered.
Not necessarily a great example, but you get the picture.
But the statement that started this discussion is "SketchUp Needs to be BIM".

My answer would be "Yes", if it plans to be a vital part of the Architectural Industry in the future. But I believe this to be a monster undertaking, and also may trigger a review of who the core users are, and if they, like Jeff, actually require BIM integration.

I Got: As shimmering derivatives become clarified through emergent and personal practice, the viewer is left with a glimpse of the darkness of our world.

@pbacot said:

Why shouldn't this be Revit? Why would "the industry" seek a common language (a file format that contains all modelling data)? Isn't this optimally done by one software or suite of applications? This is how ESRI pretty much fills the needs of the GIS world.

I guess because Revit isn't used universally. I have dealt with consultants that use CivilFEM, Solidworks, Bentley, Civil3d, InteliCad, Vectorworks, the list goes on.
People use the software suites they use for various reasons, but I just can't see everyone suddenly switching, or the developers of the alternative software just fading away.

I think the biggest drawback to BIM is the interoperability between all the various softwares that professionals use.
I'm not talking about just Cad software, but all the various software used in structural analysis, lighting analysis, mechanical systems......, I think you get the picture.
I agree with John that parametric tools would be nice, but that they are not the end all. For example sake, lets look at what would be required in changing the parameters for a wall thickness. BIM is information oriented, and so the information affected in the simple change of wall thickness could mean changes to beam sizing, structural loading, any servicing that is within the wall cavity such as electrical, mechanical, (does your duct clear the new beam) etc.
So taking the design graphics to the level of building information, that is the new essence of parametric modeling.
Now all of this has to talk a language that all of the various software that is used by everyone on the integrated design team, can easily converse in.
So in my opinion, when I look at the exporting for instance dxf/dwg to other software, not just SketchUp, the outcome of this in reality, can be less than satisfactory.
I'm not sure if it just companies guarding their proprietary systems, because they want me to purchase their product or not, but without a universal language that has true inter-operative capabilities,.... well I just don't know.

Sorry, didn't mean to re-ignite the 32, 64bit debate with my comment.
I was just trying to understand the difference between what's under the hood in the core, and what I put into the gas tank in the form of plugins.
It's hard for me to answer Jeff's original question, "Should Trimble Write Plugins" without understanding the relationship between these two better.

Hey Oli, a good friend of mine owns a heliski operation about 40 minutes from where I live.
http://www.crescentspurheliskiing.com/
Just outrageous terrain and powder! (speaking of snow, this is him on a run)