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And your profile says you have SketchUp Make ?
No more terrain data or satellite images regardless, for Make editions.

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Of course I have read Trimble’s explanations. And I am arguing that they are false. I have notified Trimble on at least three occasions that I believe their explanations to be false, have pointed out very specifically what I believe to be false about them, and asked them to clarify or specifically deny my allegations. So far they have failed to do so. And until they do so, I stand by my assertion that Trimble is not being honest with the SketchUp users in this forum.

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I also miss the good quality maps and agree that the transition could have been performed better. Maybe the transition time when users could use and compare both providers could have been longer so users had had time to adjust and plugin developers had had time to developer alternative solutions. Maybe a longer transition time had given Trimble more time to realize the current DG maps aren’t good enough and be able to find a solution before Google Maps were removed. I don’t know.

However I just don’t get what there is about Trimble’s explanation you can’t accept. If I’ve understood it correctly Google’s terms prohibit people from saving the maps and make derivative work. Their service only allows you to view the map. It’s not a question of Trimble not paying Google enough. The data isn’t for sale the way SketchUp needs it and never was. SketchUp could use the data in a way that was against the terms because Google owned SketchUp and then Google gave away the data for free for 5 years.

Yes, this could probably have been handled better by Trimble but no, they are not lying and making things up. That would be ridiculous.

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@Bryceosaurus

Something that has been discussed quite a bit among plugin developers is the requested ability to let extensions draw to the viewport without outside of active tools. Perhaps this could be a solution to the problem? If the ability to draw to the viewport without physically make changes to the model was improved a plugin could download the Google Map data to RAM, without saving to disk, and view it in the model. Then people could trace lines and place solar panels on top of the image without having it saved as a part of the model. The only thing that needs to be saved is the geo lcoation info so the same map can later be shown again, e.g. the next time the model is opened. Maybe that would be accepted under Google’s terms?

Edit: Perhaps the DG imagery could be permanently saved to the model and viewed even if the model is opened 10 years later with no internet connection while the Google imagery is only displayed when there’s direct access to the servers?

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A big problem for Skelion users. Digital Globe has poor resolution compared with Google.

I have a student license for school and a non-profit license for work. I don’t use any features that don’t come up when I load the software so I don’t know why you are accusing of me of using the software in a way that I shouldn’t. That’s rather rude. If this is what one should expect regarding customer support then I will not be supporting SketchUp again and will share my negative experience with everyone in my network. This is not something that needed to be brought up in a public forum.

I have sketchup pro

What I said is true regarding Make editions.

I suggest you then change your forum profile to match, so no more misunderstandings occur.

This is the public forum, not customer support. (In this forum anyone can respond to what you post.)

Customer Support is done through a separate portal.
https://help.sketchup.com/en/contact/customer-service

Think about them as alternative facts, this way they can’t be wrong :wink:

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I did just change it since people seem to assume that it the only way to ask others what version they are using. That said, my position still stands that the change of satellite imagery still sucks. I cannot seem to get enough detail for it to be worth using. I have read on the forum comments that pro users will have some glorious option but I haven’t seen it. If you know where one can find it please let me know as I’m getting pretty frustrated with this software at this point.

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Julia;

I’m glad we agree the Digital Globe images are inferior to the Google images. I don’t think anyone disagrees on that point. And by maintain my shrill pitch on that subject I hope keep the pressure on Trimble to fix the problem as soon as possible. They have made statements to the effect they are trying but such statements have been too vague and generalized to give us anything useful as to when the fix might be implemented.

As to your comments regarding your beliefs regarding the truth or falsity of Trimble’s representations about whether the downgrade is Google’s fault or Trimble’s business decision, here are the reasons I belief Trimble is not being candid with this forum. First, Trimble’s statement, via Bryce, that Google does not “give away” their data is true but misleading. Google does not give away their data. But they do sell it under terms and conditions that are published on their website. Bryce’s statements from last week are, therefore, not on point even if he did not actually intend to mislead the forum. But the conversation has evolved substantially since last week because I have asked Bryce, Jody, and James to directly address the question of whether or not the data is for sale by Google under terms that would allow the type of use needed by SketchUp users. And I have obviously accused them very publicly of making false statements to this forum regarding the availability of the data. As of now, none of them has responded in an unambiguous way to my very pointed accusation. Even though I am publicly calling them out to do so. I can tell you that if someone called me out in such public fashion my response would be immediate, clear, direct, and unambiguous. I regard their silence as confirmation that my accusations are true.

I have put in several phone calls to Google to clarify there terms and conditions and hope to be able to report back, and hopefully have a written statement from a Google representative, shortly regarding what exactly is allowed and what exactly is not allowed under their various plans.

Finally, now that my message has been heard loudly and clearly, I will commit to you and all other members of this forum that I will not again use all caps, cuss words, or otherwise engage in uncivil messaging. That does not mean that I will not point out what I believe to be Trimble’s wrongful conduct when I see it or that I will drop the topic before Trimble implements a remedy to the problem.

Thank you for your consideration of the topic. And I hope you will at least support my call for a prompt remedy to the problem.

Frank

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That’s false.

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Just to let you know, I am not a fan boy or a sun boy but I did flag a post of you because , like many other Make users of SketchUp , or any other software if you would ask me , don’t take time to read any TOS , they would just agree and go on with the program. I flagged the post because you violated this :
"
10. INDEMNITY

You agree to hold harmless and indemnify Trimble and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees from and against any claim, suit or action arising from or in any way related to your use of the Software or your violation of these Terms and Conditions, including any liability or expense arising from all claims, losses, damages, suits, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees, of every kind and nature. In such a case, Trimble will provide you with written notice of such claim, suit or action."

Personally , I feel that the impact of Google’s prior decision of giving a free version of SketchUp (When owning them) had a great impact on further development of the software as is. Yes , I did read

and , for what it is worth , I am a pro user since version 5, upgrading and maintenancing ever since, so the total would be a new licence price now. Not like any other software I know of. Repeatedly saying Trimble making promisses to (not) paying customers doesn’t make it so. Take your beef with Trimble on a direct level, gather others with you , if you like, but don’t use this platform, you can create you’re own.
Personally, if I would have to pick a lawyer, I would pick one who would take the time in reading all the EULA and not the lawyer that would encourage violating TOS overall, especially Trimble. Grabbing a (good) Image isn’t the problem. It is the implementation in the software via the API which violates Google TOS, as it seems for five years now, already.
You might as well try to stand up against Google, though not on this platform, since they took our data and sell it.

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I had a play with the adebeo_DanielTall_GEMaker extension and Google Pro Images and the quality is good…

they overlaid nicely onto the DG terrain added in SU…

I think it could be further automated at least on a mac, but it’s not too arduous…

however the Attributions ‘should’ be reinstated to the cropped images, this IS Google’s main demand…

[Attribution Guidelines for Google Maps and Google Earth]
(Brand Resource Center)

All uses of Google Maps and Google Earth Content must provide attribution to both Google and our data providers. We do not approve of any use of content without proper attribution, in any circumstance. We require attribution when the Content is shown. Requests for exceptions will not be answered or granted.

john

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After working my way through your fragmented sentences, my take away is that you don’t agree with me. Fine. you can sit passively by while other fight for your rights.

So why the silence Barry. The question is squarely in front of you. Why not answer it clearly, directly and unambigously? Doing so might help move the ball forward toward a resolution of the problem.

We’re working on it, Frank.

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I suspect that tracing lines still qualifies as creating a derivative works. The other problem is that reloading the imagery every time the file opens results in significantly increased traffic and costs.

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I like that you are working on it. Can you give us any more detail?

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frankly Frank,

in the UK, disclosure of information by publicly traded companies is a highly regulated activity, is it not in the USA?

john

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