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Installing Maxwell Render for Google Sketchup on Mac OS X

johannes — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:46:47 +0000

Yesterday, I was inspired to try to install an interesting plugin for Google Sketchup (partly because it is free) called Maxwell Render. The company that produces the plugin is also currently running a competition if you’re interested in entering. So I went to their website and downloaded the plugin, which is a Zip archive with a few files and folders in it.

Looking at the folder structure of the decompressed Zip archive, I really could not tell how to install this plugin (having never installed a Sketchup plugin before). So I read the instructions on the FAQ website and I learned that it needs Silverlight, specifically version 4.0. I went to the Silverlight website and tried to download it, but the only one offered is the new Silverlight 5.0. For some reason that I am not sure of, my Mac already has Silverlight 3.0 installed in /Library/Internet Plug-ins/Silverlight.plugin.

I kept searching through Google results to see if there’s any link for downloading Silverlight 4.0, but every link I come across points me to the same page for downloading Silverlight 5.0, which is apparently not compatible with the Maxwell Render plugin. I got sick of trying, so I went ahead and trashed the version 3.0 plugin from the /Library/Internet Plug-ins folder and I proceeded to install version 5.0 of Silverlight.

Searching for the correct version of Silverlight was a huge waste of time, although necessary. I cannot imagine any non-technical user going through this stuff and to be honest, I do not fancy using technology from Microsoft too much when I have already switched to a Mac (other than Word, Excel and PowerPoint, I suppose). The reason why I am complaining is mainly because of having to install third party software just to use the plugin.

In the Zip archive, there is absolutely no mention of how one installs this plugin. I have never installed a Sketchup plugin before, so it is a little bit of a mystery to me. I decided to poke around in /Library/Application Support/Google Sketchup 8/plugins and then I found that the structure resembles the structure inside the Zip archive. So I moved the file “maxwell.rb” and the “maxwell” folder into the Sketchup plugins folder and this seemed to do the trick.

Having installed version 5.0 of Silverlight, brought up a prompt when I started Google Sketchup and then clicked on the Plugin>Maxwell menu. This prompt complained that version 5.0 of Silverlight has been detected and it gives you a link to download. If you use Google Chrome as your default browser, it will take you to the download page for Silverlight 5.0, but if you copy the link and paste it into Firefox, it will let you download Silverlight 4.0 (huh?). This is weird, but it is true.

Good luck with installing and enjoy this magnificent render plugin from Maxwell Render. If they asked me for advice, I would say:

Include a link to download Silverlight 4.0 in your documentation, not just the “Get Silverlight” website, which makes you download version 5.0.
Better still, if Microsoft licensing allows, bundle Silverlight 4.0 in the package
A few short paragraphs on how to install this plugin in Sketchup would have saved a lot of time.
Nice plugin.

Getting an Android tablet

johannes — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:00:18 +0000

Ever since the idea of an Android tablet started floating about on the internet, I decided that I was going to get one. First there were the cheap and nasty Android tablets coming out of some previously unheard of Chinese manufacturers, but I held on to my money. Even though I wanted an Android-powered tablet that could rival the iPad, I did not want to blow my money on a device with Android 1.6 and no market access, plus one with a cheap resistive screen coupled with flaky wifi and no GPS.

I waited a long while before Samsung brought the 7-inch Galaxy Tab to the market, but, alas, it was only powered by Android 2.2 (Froyo) and it was also a phone which made it a little awkward and after a few hands on time, I decided it was lagging a little in the normal operations of the UI. It was only when Google released Honeycomb that other manufacturers started to come to the tablet party. HTC released the Flyer, although it was only running Gingerbread (2.3), while Samsung promised the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which in Australia manifested into the 10.1v sold through Vodafone.

While I liked the HTC Flyer, no one in Australia was selling it (except for a few on Ebay) and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v that I managed to look at in a Vodafone store, has no expansion slot whatsoever, with a steep price of $729 outright. I was then hoping that I would be able to find an Asus Transformer TF-101. I looked everywhere around town and no one had one. Furthermore, I found out that to have access to the USB port and HDMI, one would have to plug the Transformer TF-101 onto its keyboard dock. I mean, if I wanted a netbook, I would get one! So in the end I went and bought the Acer Iconia A500.

Why did I choose the Iconia A500? Well, one of the main reasons was that it was there in the stores that I went to. Hell, I even found one in Officeworks. Furthermore, it has a full-size USB port and expansion slots with an 8-hour battery life. The camera seems to be quite decent too. So without further ado, my money went to the Acer for availability and expandability.

Working with my head in the clouds

johannes — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:58:18 +0000

I have been working with a lot of documents since late last year and I must say that over the last few months I’ve grown accustomed to working on my documents online using Google Documents. It is the one application from Google that I have used consistently and constantly and I think it is simply brilliant.

Sure, I have had a few funny formatting issues that have cropped up every now and then when I upload and convert microsoft document formats such as PPS and DOCX, but they are minor issues compared to the convenience of having your documents accessible from anywhere and the ability to instantly edit and share them with people of your choice, think collaborators and people who might want to know what your thoughts are on a particular document.

The recent ability to upload any kind of file has added an extra level of convenience. I have been able to upload zipped packages containing documents and images for particular events and classes without having to convert them to Google Document format.

The convenience of editing your documents at home and then downloading and distributing them where you need them (such as lesson plans and tutorials for my students in the class room) has been the winning feature for me. It definitely beats even carrying them on USB sticks and HDDs wherever you go. If you have not yet been using Google Documents for managing your documents, then you definitely should!

Google Chrome OS will open new doors (and close windows)

johannes — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:13:08 +0000

With the recent announcement of the development of the Google Chrome OS, the possibilities for the end user has opened even wider in terms of choice of operating system for desktops, notebooks and especially netbooks. An OS with the Chrome browser as its centrepiece will certainly open interesting possibilities for the holy grail of ubiquitous availability of data which is the central tenet in the concept of cloud computing. No longer will the user need to carry their data with them, but the data will come to them wherever they could have an internet connection. This will certainly change how we work, in much the same way as working with Microsoft Word compared to working with Google Documents.

I suspect the new OS will be based on one of the pre-existing Linux distro (Ubuntu?) with the Google layer built on top to enable constant synchronising of data when online and caching mode when offline (ala Google Gears?). When it is released, hopefully it will free us all from having to worry what or which computer we are working on at any given time. To a certain extent, I have already implemented some of the ideas of cloud computing by using Google services to synchronise my calendar on my notebooks and phones. I guess the only other thing that I would like with the Google Chrome OS is cheaper data rates. This issue of data charges is what prevent a lot of people from utlising cloud-based services more often on their wireless devices (phones).

Has Google Maps Stopped Working in Firefox?

johannes — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:29:31 +0000

Recently while I was on the run I needed to find a location on a map and of course I immediately fired up my trusty new netbook and launched Firefox. Lo and behold, I could not get Google Maps to display whatsoever. I tried refreshing the page, I tried relaunching it and finally I had to fire up Internet Explorer to access the map. Since I usually avoid using Internet Explorer at all costs, this was really an exception.

I thought it might have something to do with my connection setup, but after a little bit of digging and retracing of my actions, I remembered that I had just updated Skype and I noticed that it installed an add-on onto Firefox. After I disabled this add-on from Skype, Google maps loaded effortlessly. Since I do not know what this add-on does and why it is there in the first place, I am probably not going to miss it.

So if your google maps not loading in Firefox 3.0, do not hesitate and disable that plug in to get your maps back. Someone at Skype needs to check this.