A new home for SketchUp

[solo]

John, you and the team moving too?

Yes- I'm moving to Trimble, along with the rest of the SketchUp team. They are building us a nice new office across town here in Boulder.


john
.

Great news, feel at ease and will stop "trimbling".

[tomasz]

Thom, they say they acknowledge the value of 3rd party developers, and will support them

It would mean big improvements to Ruby API and official support for C++ access to the SketchUp application through a decent SDK.

[Hieru]

If the guys that develope your favourite software are genuinely excited about a new direction then I'm really stoked about this.

That's the way I see things as well.

If they had announced an SU buy-out that involved telling the devs to sling their hook, then I'd be worried and start looking at Blender or selling a kidney in order to buy 3DS Max.

For now I'm excited about what the future will bring......although it is something of a nervous excitement.

[tallbridgeguy]

John, you and the team moving too?

Yes- I'm moving to Trimble, along with the rest of the SketchUp team. They are building us a nice new office across town here in Boulder.


john
.

This makes me feel better

[Pixero]

I totally missed this thread until now. Wow!
I havent heard of Trimble before but from what you guys have written could it mean a better landscape modelling solution?
Just hoping they'll release v9 with some features that will make us belive in SketchUp's future again...

[hirschma]

I feel like I've seen this show before, with other acquisitions of a generalized tech by very vertical entities. So I'm not getting really warm fuzzies about this. With apologies to Mark Harrison, who is an amazingly great person (I had the pleasure of getting his assistance with a user group meeting), and John Bacus (who is also wonderful, and gave a lovely presentation to our group), I'm just not buying the "nothing will change" line. I hope that I'm wrong, but consider - under what circumstances is SU helping Trimble's bottom line?

The "success metrics" for SU are determined by its owner. Google clearly sought to profit from SU in a pretty oblique fashion, although their mission for SU was kind of unclear to me (does this mean that they're going to kill off Earth, or some features of it, too?). Trimble, on the other hand, will definitely be looking more directly at the bottom line. Thus, we can assume that almost everyone that uses SU today, and isn't at least a potential Trimble client, is going to get leftovers. Unless, of course, that new developments overlap between Trimble clients and everyone else. And it could be that such overlap is very large, as we have little insight into what Trimble actually is seeking to get out of this. Or it could be the opposite, which is what I'd expect.

I expect that the PR efforts will be to keep users and plugin devs from bolting initially (because the devs seem to be part of the value equation for Trimble), and it'll be business as usual for a while. Perhaps even a long while. We might even see SU9 land in a form that's effectively the same as what a Google-owned SU would have been (as it must be pretty far down the road at this point).

But eventually I expect the hammer to drop. Trimble does (or doesn't) do something that's a deal-breaker with the community. And then the community either finds a new tool, or creates one.

Is it time for all the dev rock-stars to create CloneUp? I'd imagine that a Kickstarter campaign for that purpose would raise tankers of cash to do so. I already have my wallet out

One thing to note that may inspire some positivity, from the Trimble press-release: "The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012, and it would not be material to Trimble's 2012 earnings." Q1 GAAP earnings were in the $40mm range, so it'd appear that the transaction between Google and Trimble was mostly or entirely cashless. Might mean that the deal came with (user-friendly) strings. Let's hope so.

And lastly, I do need to acknowledge that both Mark and John are both stand-up guys, and as much as I tend to be a Cassandra, I cannot ignore my (contradictory) feeling that I find it very unlikely that they'd mislead us in any way. And that might render all of my fears moot.

This is entirely my own uninformed opinions, and should only be considered as pure speculation across the board.

[Rich O Brien]

(ps: just so you guys know, there are 64-bit (and multithreaded) members of the SketchUp team sitting together in a room reading these posts.)

I'm already liking the move...

[Ecuadorian]

I'll condense my feelings in a single phrase:

I'm worried because Trimble does not seem to be about design at all, but only boring engineering stuff like GPS and such.

[nomeradona]

my first reaction i trembled with trimble... is it a gamble? trouble? i hope 32 bit will double...

[Ericschimel]

Well, in my opinion, I think this is going to be OK. I mean, Google aquired Sketchup to enhance it's geo products, and since this company is a geo company as well, I think this might be a good fit. Only time will tell. PS, if anyone's interested, I've got a blog post up, with a SketchUCation shoutout. With any luck there will be some comments from users other then this community. It might be interested to see what others have to say:

http://sketchthis.net/breaking-sketchup-has-a-new-home/

[fossa]

I too question Trimbles commitment to communities like ArchVis and woodworking. I hope I'm proven wrong.

[SketchUpNoobie]

After reading through all the posts made by the SketchUp team, I feel a lot better about this move than I originally did.

However, why are some people 'freaking out' about having to learn another piece of software. Am I mistaken or could you-at the very worst-keep using the version of SketchUp that you have installed, minus support from Google. For example, plugins would still be able to be developed for Google SketchUp Version 8 that we have now, right?

I guess I'm just a little confused as to the way some people are/were taking this move. Could someone please enlighten me?

[notareal]

(ps: just so you guys know, there are 64-bit (and multithreaded) members of the SketchUp team sitting together in a room reading these posts.)

I'm already liking the move...

[EarthMover]

Wow! Speechless! I think we should refrain from too much speculation and just wait and see. I feel I've settled in to a very comfortable workflow and well adapted set of plugins for what I need. As long as the geolocation is going to still be functional and the 3D warehouse only improves, then there is nothing to lose. I can stay with version 8 until something proves to be worth the upgrade. From a marketing standpoint, the folks at Trimble must certainly understand they are not just acquiring software, but the 30 million users that come with it. I think they are looking to integrate some core functionality from the engine into other softwares, but as a stand alone, Sketchup will fundamentally remain the same or get better. They don't have to do much, other than put the right people on payroll and allow John and his team the resources they need to start beefing up the infrastructure. My point is they know what software they are acquiring. One would not purchase Maya from Autodesk and turn it into a CAD program...it would be easier to just create a new program. Why buy Sketchup and completely change it? As they are not competing with it on any level, it would be an asinine business strategy. I'm hopeful for good things in the future. Google is too big and has their hands in too many other pots. Trimble sounds like a good fit with goals that are geared toward better GPS based terrain information and BIM tools. Two things that will take Sketchup to the next level.

[Rich O Brien]

You're SU8 is fine as is. No different than Instagram being bought by FaceBook.

Think of it as grandfather rights. What you have is yours as long as you don't remove it.

Looking closely at the companies Trimble has acquired over time it seems SketchUp is on a bit of a homecoming. As a Pro user I'm really excited to see where the team take it. Although Google has a wider audience it can also dilute products somewhat. A more focused industry can only bring sweeter rewards.

I'll still be here regardless

[mitcorb]

Well:
I'm floored. But, all I can do is be hopeful that many of the speculations and forward thinking wishlist postings over the years may come to fruition in due time. I am glad to see that the Sketchup Team from Google will be moving with the product, because I believe this continuity is key to maintain quality and improvement.

[Sonder]

Big news! I've been so busy on projects over the past couple weeks I haven't been on here. Since it is out of my hands, I will remain very optimistic since the whole development team is staying along for the ride. That says a lot to me about the direction.

My personal concern only stems from what will happen with LayOut. Will it be further developed or replaced entirely. I have converted all my standards and only use SU/Layout for production of all my CD's now. Feedback from agencies and contractors has been very positive. Heck my first two sets got through the building department with no comments and permits ready to be issued in less than a week (very unheard of here).

I can see Trimbles involvement really focused on the construction industry and really pushing sketchup in the direction I would like with BIM capabilities.

So at this point, I am happy for the change.

[tallbridgeguy]

How will this affect other software?

Ie

Maxwell for sketchup
Thea for sketchup

Etc

I love the kickstarter idea for developing a new sketchup!

[fionmacool]

I am hopeful this will be a good move. Construction is such an important agenda for SketchUp. Since being bought by Google It has not been their main agenda- understandably so, because It is not a core competency of theirs. However, the Google brand did wonders for growing the user base. I think SketchUp is now a standalone brand that has instilled itself in the consciousness of millions worldwide, just like the Google brand did.

I hope that Trimble will give stronger marketing support to Authorised Training Centres. It really needs more muscle (investment) to be successful.

Now if Trimble would just sponsor some humorous SketchUp videos to help push their new acquisition.... I wonder who they could get to do that.......

[CadFather]

Open source has always been a great sketchup dream - one foot was already there, since we got this far thanks to the ruby masters after all.. just imagine..

if trimble is planning to be a big player in the cad wars to come (why would they move so otherwise?), there are no options but to answer the demands of the market (with civil engineering doing most of the asking), and improve.

things got too slow anyway.. something had to happen - good to know the x64 team is on board..

[tallbridgeguy]

Will sketchucation go to Trimble? Usually forums are handled by the software owner.

[lapx]

It would have felt better if they said Apple was buying Sketchup. Trimble is a foreign company to most of us. Oh, well like someone said if there is a silver lining they didnt get bought buy autocad. I guess change is inevitable but whether its good or bad time will tell.

[Pilou]

It's too late but why not like Blender for the next time?
each users give 1$ = 30 millions $ or 10 $ = 300 millions $ then users buy SU!

[Rich O Brien]

Will sketchucation go to Trimble? Usually forums are handled by the software owner.

No, but I just registered trimbucation.com

[Edson]

I must say I was stunned by the news. sort of like hearing your dad or mom say they are splitting and you will be on your own.

however, on second thoughts, it always seemed to me that google was not allowing the sketchup team to develop it as far as it should go or, rather, as we wished it to go. for one thing, many of us have hoped LayOut could be further developed to allow us to abandon whatever CAD app we are using at the moment.

thus I am mildly optimistic about it. let's hope sketchup becomes stronger, faster and better after this.

[CadFather]

It's too late but why not like like Blender for the next time?
each users give 1$ = 30 millions $ or 10 $ = 300 millions $ then users buy SU!

Sketchucation, do you hear???

No, but I just registered trimbucation.com

[mitcorb]

What are the implications to those of you who participate in the Google Sketchup Forum? Gaieus?, Anssi? others?

[tallbridgeguy]

I just started the blog http://www.SketchupforEngineers.com

[Dan Rathbun]

It would have felt better if they said Apple was buying Sketchup.

Not I ...

Does Apple even produce any software that runs on platforms other than Apple OEM hardware ??

[Mike Lucey]

It's too late but why not like like Blender for the next time?
each users give 1$ = 30 millions $ or 10 $ = 300 millions $ then users buy SU!

Pilou, could you get that started up then .... I'd imagine Trimble would be more than interested in talking to you when you have all that hard cash collected, BTW I have a spare bank account lying empty that you can freely use

Joking aside, I'm happy to see this move happening. While I was not overjoyed with the move from @Last to Google, I was able to see advantages and some of these came to fruition. In the case of this move I can see far more advantages. SketchUp will now be owned by a company that has CAD and CAD related products as its core business. This can only be a positive thing for SketchUp development. I feel SketchUp can offer Trimble equally as much as Trimble can offer SketchUp. I think it will be a good fit.

As regards SketchUp morphing into a totally different package, I very much doubt it. If it did, it would only be SketchUp in name and not '3D for everyone', its main strength and why would a solid company like Trimble kill the goose that has open 3D to millions of users Worldwide. However I would have no problems with seeing multiple versions of SketchUp tailored for various disciplines.

After my phone chat with a very happy John Bacus this afternoon, I am quite confident that he and his dedicated team will now bring SketchUp to where I think they have been wishing to bring it for a looooong time ...... over 6 years to be exact

Mike