Google has sold SketchUp, the 3D visualisation
and modelling tool it acquired in 2006. The company said in a statement that
SketchUp had been acquired by corporate consultants Trimble Navigation for an
undisclosed sum.
‘In Trimble, we found a partner that will
grow SketchUp in a way that best supports the SketchUp team and our users,’
said Google vice president of engineering Brian McClendon. ‘SketchUp is a
hugely popular tool with millions of Mac and PC users worldwide, thanks partly
to the fact that there are both free and paid-for versions.’
Has
Google Sold SketchUp Down The River?
Trimble promised it would maintain a free
version of the app. ‘We plan to continue making our tools for the building professions
as innovative, intuitive and, dare 1 say, fun to use as we always have,’
SketchUp product manager John Bacus said in a blog post.
One key element of the product that will
remain partially under Google’s control is SketchUp Warehouse, a repository of
millions of 3D models for use in SketchUp projects. ‘SketchUp and the
corresponding 3D Warehouse provide an important element of our long-term
strategy by enhancing the integration of our field presence with the wider
enterprise,’ said Trimble vice president Bryn Fosburgh, gnomically.
The California-based company specialises
in helping organisations improve the productivity of field workers, and
develops tools that use GPS and position data for industries such as surveying,
construction, agriculture. It said the SketchUp engine would be integrated into
its tools in the engineering and construction industries, among others.
Trimble’s ‘enterprise’ focus, however,
seems distant from the consumer-oriented approach that’s made SketchUp the
choice of thousands of users who’d never previously attempted 3D modelling.
Trimble
James Fee, chief evangelist for location
Sendees company WeoGeo, blogged: ‘This doesn’t change SketchUp’s awesomeness,
but I’m wondering what the future holds... The tea leaves say this means that
SketchUp will transition away from free and the cheapskates need to pony up.’
Google has shut down several services in
recent years, including Google Labs, its social network Buzz, and most recently
Wave, a real-time messaging platform that didn’t take off. Shortly after
assuming the role of CEO last summer, co-founder Larry Page said he wanted to
improve the company’s focus and put ‘more wood behind fewer arrows.’ The
strategy echoes that of Steve Jobs, who ruthlessly pruned projects on his return
to Apple in 1997, telling indignant users: ‘Focus isn’t about saying yes. Focus
is about saying no.’
Now senior MPs back student in US
copyright extradition row
Liberal democrat president Tim Fallon has
described plans to extradite Sheffield student Richard O’Dwyer as ‘ludicrous.’
Fallon called on the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to ‘take a very strong stand
on protecting civil liberties’ and review her decision.
Conservative backbenchers have also been
critical, calling O’Dwyer’s possible extradition a ‘thorn in the side of the
special relationship.’
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) officials claim O’Dwyer infringed copyright when a website he ran, TV
Shack, provided links to unlicensed films and TV programmes. ICE claims TV
Shack earned $220,500 in advertising revenue before it seized the domain in
June 2010, but it’s unclear that merely linking can infringe copyright. If
found guilty in a US court, O’Dwyer could face up to five years in prison.
His extradition was sought under the 2003
Act, which requires US authorities to show' ‘reasonable suspicion’ to demand a
suspect be sent to them for trial, while the UK must show ‘probable cause’ to
request extradition the other way. The terms have been criticised as
asymmetrical.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has
urged the Government to renegotiate the treaty, describing it as ‘unbalanced.’
And Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has asked senior Lib Dem MP Menzies
Campbell to conduct a review. Clegg said earlier this year it was ‘perfectly
legitimate’ to ask if more British citizens could be tried here rather than in
the US.
