> I note with humor this selling point from the description of Sketchup Pro:
>
> "Typing is a lousy way to draw. Building 3D models is tricky enough 
> without
> having to think like a computer. Instead of making you input coordinates,
> SketchUp has an advanced guidance system of colors, lines and text hints 
> that
> help you keep track of where you are and what you're doing."
>
> http://www.sketchup.com/?id=2

Just for interest, all modern 3D CAD programs work in similar way to 
SketchUp to start with.  You draw you stuff using the mouse, and the 
software automatically tries to guess what you meant to do (ie lines at 
right angles to each other, lines parallel, same length etc).  After you've 
drawn your initial sketch you can then go and delete/add constraints until 
your sketch is exactly as you want.  Of course constraints can be formulae 
based on other dimensions, other drawings etc so it's very flexible to build 
up a whole model based on just a few parameters.  The huge benefit is that 
when you want to change one of the key parameters, the entire model is 
updated in virtually real-time (depending on the complexity of the model...)

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