Comments on: DDTC Tells Exporters To Maintain Outdated Computer Systems

By: Bobby Shafer

Bobby Shafer — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:52:26 +0000

I have been using Vista without issue. My company also uses an OCR product called EASE which allows us to do much of liceneses and export into Adobe…though I have a sneaking feeling that the required hard copy sumbmission to intermediate corporate entities is being somehow transposed into the old PureEdge forms.

If you think that is NOT a model of efficiency … they still use “pen & ink”/FAX for redlines too…

By: Joel VanderHoek

Joel VanderHoek — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 00:52:11 +0000

Hey Jason – good to see you ExportLawBlog… no surprise, I guess. We too have an XP machine devoted to DSP-5s. I just bought a new laptop for travel, and chose the only one at Best Buy that was still running XP. Maybe we could submit a FOIA and find any documentation relating to how/why they chose PureEdge? I’m still waiting to hear back from State for a FOIA request I submitted a few months ago on another issue.

By: Sandy Keeney

Sandy Keeney — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 21:28:04 +0000

Hey – leave my typewriter alone. You still use a pen, don’t you??

We have a daisy wheel typewriter in our office that is in use, not constantly, but pretty often. I don’t know that it’s the only one in the company, but people come from other buildings in the complex to use it. What for? Why, filling out forms, of course!

By: Jason Wong

Jason Wong — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:40:08 +0000

I successfully used a Vista (32 bit) machine to submit DSP-5 applications prior to upgrading to Win 7. Although I have not tried it yet, I suspect that a Win 7 machine running in 32 bit mode will also allow the PureEdge software to work properly.

As for the answer to why PureEdge and not Adobe, I suspect it comes down to money. Prior to the last 2 years, I doubt there was any money budgeted for upgrades. Now that we’re paying inflated license fees… who knows where the money is going.

Final thought: Be happy DDTC allows electronic submission of forms. ATF still requires hard copies to be MAILED. At least ATF uses Adobe.

By: Stan Vose

Stan Vose — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:51:32 +0000

It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? I have an old machine with Windows XP that sits largely unused except for submitting DSP-5 applications.

My newer machine has Windows Vista (which is supposedly iffy with PureEdge Viewer also). I took a chance and installed my digital certificate and PureEdge Viewer on this new machine and have successfully used it to submit applications, but I’m terrified to dispose of the old machine because of the prevalence of warnings about PureEdge Viewer being incompatible with Vista.

Funny that you should mention the IBM Selectric. We have one sitting in our home office which I have used on occasion to fill out US Government forms–only they were forms from departments other than DDTC.