APPSCOUT  Why would either this app, or 'SweetHome' need access to our system?  
(Version 7.1.4870)

RAZZ  I created a drawing of a house plan in Sweet Home 3d (a free app) some time ago and wanted to see how well SketchUp handled it. The drawing has walls, windows, doors, some furniture, and other ditties. I wanted to see if SketchUp could put a roof on the house but I never got that far.

It didn't crash.

I exported the file from Sweet Home 3D as a .obj file (the only option you have) and imported this file into Cheetah3D (an awesome app). I then exported it from Cheetah3D as a .3ds file.

SketchUp did not import a .3ds file properly at all.

So, I exported the file from Cheetah3D to a .dxf file which SketchUp did import albeit very slowly. The resulting drawing was tiny in scale. This is not right. I need accurate dimensions. The resulting file had over 250,000 entities - what did this thing do, take every itty bitty line and make it an entity?

As a result, moving around is EXTREMELY slow - zooming and panning tested my patience.

I did draw a few things but lost interest in using it because it's performance on this file was so bad.

SketchUp can be used for *simple* drawings containing small numbers of objects and that's about it. It is like 3D electronic graph paper and it might serve your needs so give it a try but don't be surprised if it starts to balk at higher levels of complexity.  
(Version 7.0.8656)

BUCHO  I just started using it a few days ago, and it's already become one of the most common pieces of software I use. I've played with AutoCAD in the past, but am by no means an expert, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to master SketchUp - while I'm not yet a master, I've already mocked up my living room (we're shopping for furniture), and I can't wait to try my hand at some exterior landscaping designs.

Thanks Google!   
(Version 7.0.8656)

BIKER4MAC  I first saw SketchUp at MacWorld NY in 2002 and was immediately taken by it. This was what I wanted 3D to be since first starting to work with integrating architecture and computers! There are more robust programs for CAD and for 3D modeling, but I find nothing easier to use in the design phase - it is like a combination of napkin sketching and clay models. I can very quickly put an idea together and then play with it until I have my thoughts together. I rarely pick up paper and marker anymore to design. Clients also respond very favorably to SketchUp - the ability to quickly see their ideas take shape and look at various possibilities - should this be taller, what if this is smaller...? No, you're not likely to do a full set of construction documents with it, but I have done some small projects that way. And with the TurboSketch plugin you can do some pretty realistic rendering as well.  
(Version 6.4.120)

APPSCOUT  Why would this need root access?

Can't install till I know.

FWIW, using 'unpkg' to see what gets installed leaves an EMPTY folder.

What are you hiding?  
(Version 6.0.1145)

MICWARE  This product is a very good OS X implementation of a 3D software. Clean and stable release I think it's much better than Live Interior 3d or any over Mac 3D Designer. Easy to use and functional tool to design environements and interiors. I love this product.  
(Version 6.0.514)

ERWINF  Sketch up 6 works fine on my macbook 1,83 1mb internal memory. Just turn of hardware acceleration in prefferences and you will not have any cursor trouble. It works fine for me since then.

I likee the programme

Greetings

Erwin  
(Version 6.0.313)

JESPANCH  This is a good basic CAD type sytem, with a few problems. My main problem with it is the difficulty in dimentioning and constraining items. It can be done in a couple different ways, but none of them are easy, especially when compared to high end CAD systems. It can also have drawing errors if you don't have a new enough graphics card. You really need at least 32mb of VRAM in order to get it to draw correctly.

THIS IS NOT A UNIVERSAL APP! If you are using an intel mac it will not run well. I can run it okay on my 5 year old iBook 500, and it runs well on my iMac G4 700, as long as I keep the geometry simple. Any PPC mac of 1Ghz or more should have no problem at all with this app.  
(Version 5.0.305)

PFENIX  Ye gods is this thing slow! I'm using a MacBook, and it is having some serious issues when drawing stuff - the cursor leaves a trail of dots all over the screen. I know that it is a great program (I use it a lot on my ~4 year old PC with windows XP, and it works perfectly), but it could really use some improvement in terms of how it works on a MacBook. Still, it's probably more an issue with the hardware then with the program, so ...

It's a great program, and I encourage people to try it, but it needs a lot more then this computer has.  
(Version 5.0.297)

IXIS9  Sketch-up is a great piece of software and it has come a long way and is more sophisticated than earlier versions. For sure I wouldn't try using it on a MacBook unless it was a MacBook Pro. It needs a video card and the MacBooks don't have one.   
(Version 5.0.296)

ANONYMOUS  How to desinstall it and get rid off the sketchup daemon?  
(Version 5.0.149)

ANONYMOUS  SketchUp is a very, very cool software. I am a bit into 3D and know all the difficultues that gives. SketchUp gives me my creative skills a boost when it comes to vizualizing and explaining my ideas. As a graphic designer it gives me so much. Thank you!   
(Version 5.0.149)

GEORGE J.  I have been using SketchUp for about 3 months now, first to figure out where to site a shed behind our house (we have 2 10 foot utility easements on 2 seperate property lines. We figured out where the shed could go and how big it could be, from the model.

We also used it to do a 3D as-built of our house before doing some renovations, with two serious problems avoided by using it.

I've started using it at work to illustrate tasks to our subcontractors, that would require long and tedious written instructions, but only a few visual frames.  
(Version 4.0.173)

FOOZMAN  This is a really great program. It has an academic license for $100/year. I think this is a little steap for an expiring license, but it is actually worth it. I use it all the time to create exam and quiz problems for my sophomor level engineering classes. It crashes from time to time, but this might be a problem with my machine and not sketchup. It is really easy to use. It takes a while to learn the many features though. Here is my wish list:

1. individually control line thickness and color

2. revert face to default color (especially useful while editing components)

3. Pin text to any point in space with more formatting options

4. Specify normal for plane of rotation numerically. the graphical interface is excellent though.

I would recommend that anyone try the 8 hour demo download. The online how-to videos are also excellent.  
(Version 4.0)

ANONYMOUS  3d ball is found ready made in the components panel ... under shapes or something...

drag it to the stage ....

:)  
(Version 4.0)

HERVé S.  does it handle metric units now?

This was the show-stopper for me at version 1...

Herve  
(Version 4.0)

LAURIE KIRCHMEIER  I have been using Sketchup for over a year and am continually impressed by how powerful and intuitive it is to use. During the last year I have used Sketchup very successfully to help visualize various features of an extensive remodel of our house.  
(Version 3.1.32)

MAC NEW USER  Anybody know how to draw 3D ball using SketchUP? Thank you very much.  
(Version 3.1.31)

ANONYMOUS  Amazing tool to draw 3d spaces and sketch 3d houses. A bit overpriced.  
(Version 3.0.102)

ADEL RMALI  I am researching about SketchUp as a sophisticated software, it has such a hand draft touches, I like it so much, I got used to deal with it because I have been using it just two weeks ago, I have got release 3.0. I seek to write my dissertation about it, please if you have any new information or even you can advise me to some books that written about it.  
(Version 3.0.102)

LORIN RIVERS  I am totally blown away by this app. It's one of the coolest I have ever seen even though I am not an architect or a 3D pro, I've made some interesting explorations of my house & remodel plans  
(Version 3.0)

ANONYMOUS  Absolutely stunning; until I watched the tutorial videos, I hadn't realised how great it was.

..they also do academic pricing, which made registering it a no-brainer!  
(Version 2.2)