5 ms·

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: FreeCAD (2021)

77 points by app4soft 4y ago

killjoywashere 4y ago
The page cannot be displayed because an internal server error has occurred. So here's the way back link https://web.archive.org/web/20210928110831/https://www.oit.va.gov/Services/TRM/ToolPage.aspx?tid=15500 https://web.archive.org/web/20210928110831/https://www.oit.v...
- app4soft 4y ago
  > The page cannot be displayed because an internal server error has occurred. HN effect.
  - app4soft 4y ago
    UPD: Site is back to work.
sco1 4y ago
Am I missing something particularly exciting about this?
- Jtsummers 4y ago
  Not really. It appears to be a database of approved (and disapproved) software people can use for various activities. The constraint on this one (and it seems to be on most of them, doing a brief browse through) is that you have to inform/get approval from the supervisor and others before downloading and perform a virus scan on it before executing. I guess the good thing is that it shows the VA has a central repository of approved and disapproved software instead of making every team go out and figure it out themselves.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  That obviously depends on what excites you. I think it's cool that more free software gaining acceptance and traction
  - sco1 4y ago
    This is just a bureaucratic checkbox though. IT approvals are "an employee asked if they could use this" not some kind of broader endorsement.
    - s1artibartfast 4y ago
      Sure, I think that is clear. It is still better to be on the list with a check than not!
    - Brian_K_White 4y ago
      It's a good thing. So what if there is not also a parade?
    - 1MachineElf 4y ago
      I used to work there and was delighted they had Vim listed. I was allowed to install Vim on my workstation. Emacs is not approved unfortunately. Not sure why. I wonder if it has to do with that exploitable bug from decades ago from Cliff Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg. Rationale for other technology choices they make go back even farther in history.
    - thrwawy74 4y ago
      At my corner, they license out Creative Suite and moan about the cost every year. So many folks using it for basic video cutting/transitions. I've recommended Blender - which is approved - over and over, but it falls on deaf ears. This is the same thing. Great open-source application that does what people want. We don't just need "enterprise support" for open-source applications, we also need enterprise training. I wish a part of the gov were dedicated to supporting open-source and acting as good sumaritan liaisons to these projects.
    - pxmpxm 4y ago
      Yeah, also more to the point does the VA actually use any sort cad at all?
      - kube-system 4y ago
- hadlock 4y ago
  Government employees can design basic stuff (and some not-so-basic stuff) and 3d print it in their machine shop, or send the design to a machine shop to be made, rather than sending in a requisition for purchasing commercial CAD software, waiting 6-12 months for purchasing and legal approval etc. to design basic stuff. There are a million things that need pretty basic brackets or adapters that break or rust and you could get a machine up and running in a day or two by designing it yourself, rather than going through a bidding process, purchase order, invoice etc. Maybe the ABS 3D printed part will only last a week, but at least your million dollar machine is up and running while the metal part is on order. You can cut out a ton of bureaucracy. There are a lot of groups named "F*ck that, I'll just print it" showing how they fixed or modify one simple part that doesn't have a lot of stress (less than 100lbs) but they'd have to throw out or stop using otherwise.
andychase 4y ago
Just for context, that system lists what might be approved for installation on Government Furnished Equipment. It doesn't mean anyone will use it.
- themodelplumber 4y ago
  I like to think there's somebody watching this announcement (based on their own request) and pouring themselves a cold one, getting ready to train their whole department on some niche aspect of FreeCAD that will save millions, with this approval out of the way. (Millions of dollars maybe, but also maybe just millions of seconds, you never know) Then step 2 of the plan is to direct some grant money toward development of some $picky_CAD_folks_features[] which will also prove beneficial for some kids somewhere, ...who will go on to help create the next generation of really awesome CAD tools and designs that benefit all kinds of people. But, that's just one version that seems like it could happen, to be sure.
boris-ning-usds 4y ago
Interesting to see this popped up here. I used to submit a bunch of tools through the internal Technical Reference Model (TRM) portal where there's 40 or so questions to answer. draw.io should be available too. Back in 2018 when I joined, VA laptops were still running on hard disk drives and the laptops were 6.5lbs. Procurement cycles for it were likely once per decade, and VA was just going through their last batch of shitty laptops; and I wrote all my bash scripts on that running on cygwin.
bluedino 4y ago
Does it need to be sold by a GSA-approved vendor? Is it CMMC-approved?
Evidlo 4y ago
I wonder what they use CAD for?

77 points by app4soft 4y ago

The page cannot be displayed because an internal server error has occurred. So here's the way back link https://web.archive.org/web/20210928110831/https://www.oit.va.gov/Services/TRM/ToolPage.aspx?tid=15500 https://web.archive.org/web/20210928110831/https://www.oit.v...

app4soft 4y ago
> The page cannot be displayed because an internal server error has occurred. HN effect.
- app4soft 4y ago
  UPD: Site is back to work.

sco1 4y ago

Am I missing something particularly exciting about this?

Jtsummers 4y ago
Not really. It appears to be a database of approved (and disapproved) software people can use for various activities. The constraint on this one (and it seems to be on most of them, doing a brief browse through) is that you have to inform/get approval from the supervisor and others before downloading and perform a virus scan on it before executing. I guess the good thing is that it shows the VA has a central repository of approved and disapproved software instead of making every team go out and figure it out themselves.
s1artibartfast 4y ago
That obviously depends on what excites you. I think it's cool that more free software gaining acceptance and traction
- sco1 4y ago
  This is just a bureaucratic checkbox though. IT approvals are "an employee asked if they could use this" not some kind of broader endorsement.
  - s1artibartfast 4y ago
    Sure, I think that is clear. It is still better to be on the list with a check than not!
  - Brian_K_White 4y ago
    It's a good thing. So what if there is not also a parade?
  - 1MachineElf 4y ago
    I used to work there and was delighted they had Vim listed. I was allowed to install Vim on my workstation. Emacs is not approved unfortunately. Not sure why. I wonder if it has to do with that exploitable bug from decades ago from Cliff Stoll's The Cuckoo's Egg. Rationale for other technology choices they make go back even farther in history.
  - thrwawy74 4y ago
    At my corner, they license out Creative Suite and moan about the cost every year. So many folks using it for basic video cutting/transitions. I've recommended Blender - which is approved - over and over, but it falls on deaf ears. This is the same thing. Great open-source application that does what people want. We don't just need "enterprise support" for open-source applications, we also need enterprise training. I wish a part of the gov were dedicated to supporting open-source and acting as good sumaritan liaisons to these projects.
  - pxmpxm 4y ago
    Yeah, also more to the point does the VA actually use any sort cad at all?
    - kube-system 4y ago
hadlock 4y ago
Government employees can design basic stuff (and some not-so-basic stuff) and 3d print it in their machine shop, or send the design to a machine shop to be made, rather than sending in a requisition for purchasing commercial CAD software, waiting 6-12 months for purchasing and legal approval etc. to design basic stuff. There are a million things that need pretty basic brackets or adapters that break or rust and you could get a machine up and running in a day or two by designing it yourself, rather than going through a bidding process, purchase order, invoice etc. Maybe the ABS 3D printed part will only last a week, but at least your million dollar machine is up and running while the metal part is on order. You can cut out a ton of bureaucracy. There are a lot of groups named "F*ck that, I'll just print it" showing how they fixed or modify one simple part that doesn't have a lot of stress (less than 100lbs) but they'd have to throw out or stop using otherwise.

andychase 4y ago

Just for context, that system lists what might be approved for installation on Government Furnished Equipment. It doesn't mean anyone will use it.

themodelplumber 4y ago
I like to think there's somebody watching this announcement (based on their own request) and pouring themselves a cold one, getting ready to train their whole department on some niche aspect of FreeCAD that will save millions, with this approval out of the way. (Millions of dollars maybe, but also maybe just millions of seconds, you never know) Then step 2 of the plan is to direct some grant money toward development of some $picky_CAD_folks_features[] which will also prove beneficial for some kids somewhere, ...who will go on to help create the next generation of really awesome CAD tools and designs that benefit all kinds of people. But, that's just one version that seems like it could happen, to be sure.

boris-ning-usds 4y ago

Interesting to see this popped up here. I used to submit a bunch of tools through the internal Technical Reference Model (TRM) portal where there's 40 or so questions to answer. draw.io should be available too. Back in 2018 when I joined, VA laptops were still running on hard disk drives and the laptops were 6.5lbs. Procurement cycles for it were likely once per decade, and VA was just going through their last batch of shitty laptops; and I wrote all my bash scripts on that running on cygwin.

bluedino 4y ago

Does it need to be sold by a GSA-approved vendor? Is it CMMC-approved?

Evidlo 4y ago

I wonder what they use CAD for?