open-source-energy.org

First, I'm using Ubuntu 12.04  --with older versions, YMMV.
I went here first.
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/google-sketchup.html
Nice straight forward instructions, which usually are doomed to fail.

So, first thing I did was add the wine ppa to get the very newest version.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install wine
sudo apt-get install winetricks

That will install the latest and greatest version of wine and winetricks
...almost. Sorry, another step here.

The winetricks package is installed, BUT the script (it's not a binary
file) in /usr/bin isn't the latest and greatest and failed to install
all the Windows files, that article mentions. I know, MicroSoft is a
moving target as well.

So, one more hoop to jump through using your browser go here:
http://winetricks.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/src/winetricks

You'll get a page that is a bash shell script, save the page as
"winetricks" ...then, in a terminal window, type:
sudo cp winetricks /usr/bin
...to write over the old file you have there.

WHEW!! Now, as your user, type: winetricks corefonts vcrun6 vcrun2005

...and it'll run. Agree to each license acceptance screen that pops up.
One was German so hit "ya" for yes!

Next, head here for Sketchup
http://www.sketchup.com/intl/en/download/gsu.html
Agree and download the WinXP version

Lastly, type: wine GoogleSketchUpWEN.exe

Take the defaults and pick a template. If this doesn't run ten times
faster than your previous attempts, Bob's your uncle.

You will see an new icon on your desktop that is a shortcut to sketchup,
which makes it easy to launch.

Enjoy! I am blown away with how fast it runs after a zillion other
failed and half-baked attempts. Plus, it correctly opens a browser to
access Google Warehouse from the menu bar!! But, I have to save the file
as it won't import into Sketchup directly. So, I'm looking for a plugin
for Chrome.  Ric

p/s MAKE SURE YOUR VIDEO DRIVER IS INSTALLED! But, if you're running the
OWL client, most likely you are covered.

--
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
http://linuxcounter.net/user/44256.html