Google buys Sketchup
Google just bought Sketchup. Wow. Sketchup is a 3D app that is both easy to use and very advanced. There has been a Google Earth Plugin for Sketchup available for quite some time, which let you put your Sketchup 3D models into Google Earth.
Google buying Sketchup is good news, and I hope the first thing they do is to lower the price (at least I can hope). I guess some people, like architects and designers would worry that Google turns Sketchup into an app only for 3D for web. @Last Software explains:
I can’t stress this enough: the 3D world just got a huge boost, so please don’t worry about SketchUp or our mission. Think about it this way: we haven’t traded in the Honda for a Porsche; we’ve strapped a rocket to the Honda. SketchUp is still SketchUp, but now it will go places it couldn’t possibly have gone before.
Somehow that image is a bit disturbing. Strapping a rocket to a Honda? Reminds of the 1995 Darwin Awards winner (lately confirmed as a bogus), about the guy who strapped a JATO unit to his Chevy. Must be one of the funniest bogus stories ever.
TUAW thinks Google is working on it’s own operating system:
I wonder if this is another move for Google into releasing their own operating system, as has been rumored for some time now. They’re actively acquiring desktop applications, resources, and programmers to make such a move. A free Google Linux, or even a suite of Google Web 2.0 applications that run on the platform independent Internet, would be an interesting competitor to Microsoft’s stranglehold on the desktop marketplace.
3D ads?
Hmmm. Maybe they are, but I think Sketchup was bought to give people a great tool to build 3D content for Google Earth. My guess: In some time it will be possible to make a 3D model in Sketchup, but an ad from Google Adsense, get a code from the Adsense page, put that code into your 3D model, and as people fly over your business, they’ll see your sign/ad/whatever.
See this picture from Google Earth. It’s downtown Chicago with buildings mapped on it from Sketchup.
3D Navigation system?
Or maybe they will use Sketchup to make better 3D maps for cars? Google and VW is making a GPS car navigation system together. Imagine if all buldings you drive by were mapped already in the car navigation system? That would be a whole lot more precise than just flat maps. Add Google’s database of businesses, shops etc, and you have a system where you could park anywhere, type any product into the nav system, and Google will take you there with 3D maps showiing the way: You: “Toyota tires”. Nav system: “Go forward on E14 700m, turn left…” (and shows buildings leading up to that left turn).
Lower the price
Like I said, the price need to go down. Fraser Speirs has some thoughts on this.
I hope this is an acquisition in the style of Picasa (which was released more-or-less as-is but for free) and not in the style of Urchin (which completely screwed over TextDrive in a big way).
And finally: Official Googleblog post about this.
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