I agree, the tone is getting better. jbacus is listening and answering on a holiday weekend. That should speak for itself.

If you are unhappy with SU free, buy Pro. If you are making money off this program, buy Pro. We vote with our money. THAT is an effective way to keep SU going, not complaining. We need to be clear and specific about what direction or feature means something to us. I'm voting for better performance through OpenGL http://goo.gl/mod/vpGZ, dynamically linked files http://goo.gl/mod/uBBj, and a new program to sequence images fileshttp://goo.gl/mod/6JQZ. Let's stay constructive in our discussion. We may all get something out of it.

If SU can be the engine/platform that remains extensible and accessible, we can continue to grow the program in meaningful directions.

I've also tried to conduct a review of many of the renderers in an exterior (landscape) context. I am a beginner and the review was to cover what does the default setting give the viewer. These were using the latest versions (in some cases beta) in demo or trial mode. And I learned it is hard to compare renderers... They all have areas where they excel, they are all built on inspiration (and perspiration), and can show off wonderful things in the hands of an expert. Any feedback on the review is welcomed.

http://sketchupland.posterous.com/a-personal-review-of-sketchup-renderers

Yes, I would use .png files with transparency. You can use other people's styles with textures as a study guide by going to Style > Edit >Watermark then clicking on the specific watermark and save as to your computer.

I've been working on a Japanese Screen style for a client who wanted a minimalistic Japanese landscape.
http://www.verdantky.com/2010/01/06/williams-landscape/
I wanted to make it available to you all as a thank you for the wonderful, sharing environment that is SketchUcation.

The screen is meant to be a tribute to the Rokkyoku byobu (six panel) Japanese Screen landscape paintings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By%C5%8Dbu (it is from scratch so it is not meant to be historically accurate). The style is done in layers: the panel is a frame under the model, then two watermarks (the characters and the red stamp) are placed on top. If you wish remove the red stamp and add your own, feel free Edit Watermark and export the various parts.
You will need to go into the Style Edit tab to change the Edge Level of Detail so that it works with your model.

The characters mean (from top to bottom): Eternal, Good Fortune, Happy, and Heart so I'm told. The bamboo and Japanese characters are brushes from Deviant Art.

Rokkyoku byobu.style

A frosty blueprint style in the spirit of the season.

Frosty Blueprint Style file