SketchUp Goes Green
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.13.07
I have been a Sketchup user since it started, and was ambivalent when Google bought it, I had been spending hundreds of dollars on it and now it was being given away! I continue with my SketchUp Pro but realize now the power of free, now there are tens of thousands of people creating components and models that are available for me to use, and learn via Energyenthusiast at Hugg that there is now a vast library of alternative energy drawings and components available for download. Of course they can all be tied into Google Earth so we can redesign the world on line.
After spending a day with Cameron Sinclair of Achitecture for Humanity the power of open source has become so obvious, that there is an economic model that works by sharing rather than hiding, that exposure is more important than secrecy. Never have such powerful tools for collaboration and communication existed as the Open architecture Network, Google or Sketchup. What a great time to be a designer. ::Alternative Energy
John posted some cool screenshots of some container-home designs he found in Sketchup. Sounds like a very neat tool.
http://www.futurehousenow.com/2007/05/neat-google-sketchup-models-of.html
I too have used sketchup for a few years now, its gotten me top marks in classes and a job at a firm since I was nothing more than a second year student. The idea of a cheap [when compared to others] and open source idealistic program i believe to be a good idea. Also when compared to Alias Studiotools, a program by the same people who do Mya that I'm required to learn in school its far more usefull for everyday run of the mill designs and costs the client much less in time which they do enjoy.
" an economic model that works by sharing rather than hiding, that exposure is more important than secrecy."
AMEN to that!!!
SketchUp is a godsend for the poor student, but green tech was one of the vital elements missing from the image libraries. Good news!
"The idea of a cheap [when compared to others] and open source idealistic program i believe to be a good idea"
sketchup is not open source, not even close, it could be retracted by google at any time. any work which is put into it by any third parties, for instance, code additions using the ruby API are a potential waste of time due to this fact. free open source software is a good thing and sketchup aint it. i really hope google see the light on this one.
p.s. if you want open source try blender or better yet k3d
i hate google scketchup it is soooooooooooooo booring.ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ so ya.
hay some one call me at 425-985-6849
I applaud your support for "an economic model that works by sharing rather than hiding" as well as your appreciation for the "power of open source" but would point out that sketchup itself is most definitely *not* open source (nor are pretty much any of the rest of Google's online toolkit).
While one can be thankful that Google have provided this and other services (and in most cases have also provided support for export in an open format) we would do well to keep clearly in mind the distinction between 'free as in beer' and 'free as in freedom' i.e. free to reuse, redistribute (see http://www.opendefinition.org/ for more details).
We should also remember that it has long been common in the software industry when pricing proprietary products to follow a 'cheap (free) at the start, expensive later' pricing scheme in order to exploit the lock-in that arises from the existence of switching costs and indirect network effects.
Thus, it might well be worth investigating (or contributing to) an 3-D design system that really is open-source on the basis that as truly 'open' system will prove the better investment for your time and effort over the long-run.