Sure, could be.
I haven’t gone back to read all 586 previous messages in this topic, but it seems to me you are inserting your own interpretation into what has been said. I don’t remember anyone writing or implying that no company can give away free samples and succeed. Only that if they are giving it away for free they have to believe they will recoup the cost via some other stream of revenue. Otherwise they have no reason to be in business!
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Yeah it was more than “implied” on several occasions or that is the way I read it from a few SU “evangelicals”. I agree that one has to have a plan or reason to give something away, sire but a company can always do what they want. Which is why as I think the “Make” version was a great idea but Tremble is free to make their own decision with their property.
I wonder what SketchUp is thinking right now. It seems like a large portion of Make users are jumping ship and looking for alternative software. It also seems like most of those users are happy to pay for the program if a noncommercial licence was a fraction of the cost of Pro. I think they are missing out on a revenue stream that is right in front of them.
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lets take it one step at a time then. lets presume the Sketchup Pro bundle (inc. Layout) is unbundled. Do you think Sketchup Pro should have a lower price then? If so, what would you suggest
I honestly don’t think that Layout adds a tremendous amount of value in my opinion. It wouldn’t affect my decision to purchase a pro license.
I personally have a Pro license for work and Make 17’ on my personal computer. I would rather see Trimble/SketchUp put ads in Make and keep updating the software rather than use the watered down web based application.
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having the advertising, interesting idea
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a bright idea to have advertising
Hi e’3 (great fan of your work), but I kind of disagree with your “throw away” comment about Inkscape.
For some reason I came into this thread on the discussion of cost and licensing (flagelate me if I’m in the wrong torture chamber)… Extensive debates has gone on in far too many threads…
Personally, any commercial use should be Pro… end of conversation… ( 2018’s philosophy sucks… FULL STOP ).
However, after all this banter of free vs License, you have introduced another 3rd’ party free software which exacerbates our entire conundrum.
I think it is unfair when people are expected to pay for a pro license and the same people to free-load on Inkscape! Absolutely nothing against the free Inkscape, however, to recommend a freebie to someone that won’t fork out those shekels for another product is pushing boundaries.
The following has no further reference to your (e’3) comment.
Yes, $700 (bloody $869 Aust) is a tad too high for hobbyists like me but for a revenue making company I’m sure the IRS would have a field day with your books if you’re one of the complainers. I’m a retired privateer and use Pro to make my life easier. If you wan’t to struggle, struggle with juggling free software and unsolicited spams.
Suck it up Nancies (sorry Nancy)… If you don’t want to pay… put up with what you are offered for free and shut your trap. If you make money out of your design buy a license… if you can’t afford the license, maybe consider a more profitable line of work like emptying dunny cans… don’t need multiple licenses for that… but then you’ll complain about not finding staff!
Don’t call back on Google Earth… yesterday is gone and all your whingeing will not change that… Go through your photo album and cry over those past experiences instead! Whingeing about SketchUp (now) vs other products may get a sympathetic ear but will not changte the situation and will only generate more futile discussions that I will have the misfortune of having to read additional mundane ■■■■ to keep up to date with current status quo.
Sorry for my rant, but whenever I wan’t to extend my SketchuP knowledge base, I am inundated with all the negative feedback (says he who thinks 2018 sucks) and finish up reaching for my bottle of Scotch out of frustration for the idiotic expectations and ignorance of some of the users.
Now having said all that, I think that 2018 WEB based (though it does not affect me (YET)… Pro user… and this is a supportive protest) sucks, for all the legitimate FREE users whose Internet bandwidth/connection suck due to the incompetence/penny-pinching suppliers.
PS. e’3, Inkscape is a great suggestion for the everyday non-commercial enthusiast!
Am I missing something here? I’ve been paying like $180.00 (last year) to upgrade my Sketchup Pro licenses every year.
What’s all this talk about $700.0/year per seat?
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I think he meant $700 outright, you need Pro in the first place if you just want an upgrade.
alex,
one of the key topics I brought up earlier was to provide a monthly subscription. I happened to notice that Autodesk does that, so at least for smaller companies their cash flow can better budget a monthly payment. That doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Does it?
Best, Bill
Alex does make a very good point at the end of his discussion. When utilizing any web/browser-based app(lication) you need really good bandwidth from the host. Having cable and paying for the data rate I have is just one example of where money also has to go - infrastructure.
Oh and to clarify on something, I’m thinking that the monthly subscription fee x 12 would come out to be about $100 more then the annual subscription fee. You get a benefit and you have to pay for it.
Bill
I don’t think an annual sub would be that much (or at least I hope not).
I only pay around £50 a month for the entire Adobe Creative Cloud which is excellent value for money, Photoshop alone before Creative Cloud was around £700. A suite of the core software would set you back around £3000, it would not update every year but overall it’s much better on the new subscription model.
I would like to think an annual sub for SketchUp would be around the £400 mark, I expect that would be fair and competitively priced. That’s about 1/3rd of the price of the Max/Maya subscription.
The annual subscription for the Autodesk AEC collection (Revit etc.) is 3 545,30 €.
Yes, sorry to clarify I meant Maya or Max individually.
Personally, I would not pay more then the annually maintenance fee of a network licence, provided it would allow me to log in anywhere with my credentials on any system where SketchUp is installed.
One person Network licence…
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Here’s another idea, just for discussion sake:
What about with the SU Pro demo, allowing the user to buy, say, 4 months worth of usage for $233, and if they do that three times, they now have a full license? Annual maintenance fees as applicable from then on.
As a long time user, the annual maintenance isn’t too tough to swallow, but, for a brand new user, that initial cost makes you think twice.
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What if after those first 4 months you can not yet decide? You’re almost trapped into continuing, to pay for the next 4+4 months. Or all is lost. Rather expensive. I think it’s a weird situation you are getting yourself into.
IMO Trimble should be allowed to make its own decisions on how to distribute their products.