"Intellectuals solve problems. Geniuses prevent them." -- Albert Einstein
Posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 11:37 AM
GOOGLE SKETCHUP 3D BASECAMP, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA--I'm sitting in a courtyard under a canopy with about 75 other people waiting for Google SketchUp's 3D Basecamp to start. The courtyard is at the center of the office complex that has become known as the Googleplex. It is a group of avand garde three- and four-story office buildings surrounding an extended courtyard that has tables, volleyball courts, a full-scale replica of a dinosaur skeleton, and plenty of walkways, including the "yellow brick road." It was built in the early 1990s by Silicon Graphics, then later acquired by Google as SGI was in decline and Google was rising.
The SketchUp division remains in Boulder, Colorado, but there was more room to hold the conference here. And possibly more interest among attendees. Boulder is a trippy place, but there is a special mystique surrounding everything "Google," and that cachet now extends to SketchUp.
The first thing I do when I arrive at a conference (after registering) is to scout around for people I know. It has been a long time since I attended a CAD-related conference where I didn't already know several people in attendance. So far there are no familiar faces. The SketchUp people I knew best are former Sketchers, who left the company a respectable time after the acquisition. I know there are other members of the press here, and I'm looking forward to meeting the SketchUp user who creates comic books for construction (whose name escapes me now).
There are questions on my mind as I wait for things to get started (there will be a general welcome under the canopy at noon). Will Google continue to support the professional version in a meaningful way, or will the free version so dominate the company's attention that professional users should consider moving on? Will there be announcements of new features today? Will Sergey and Larry grace us with their presence, as they did at the Geodevelopers Day in 2006? Will I find my way to my host's house tonight? Joel, if you are reading, expect a phone call about 6:30pm.
--RSN