Team at Brooks AFB Wins Hammer for Internet-Based "Writing Tutor"
The team, which includes private sector consultants and local high school teachers, developed skills training software in math, writing, and science. This led to intranet-based versions now in use in some Job Corps Centers and 40 high schools nationwide. Now there's an Internet-based version of the plain language writing tutor that has a promising future.

Register Your Trademark Online
Let's see now. You want to register your trademark for WidgetsPlus. Do you (1) head for a lawyer or (2) go straight to the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) developed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office? Try TEAS. You can submit your application and graphic file online and pay the filing fee by credit card. You'll save time and money!

Smart Cards Carry All
All of us who use ATM and credit cards know how smart a little plastic card with a magnetic stripe can be. But plastic cards are getting smarter. A smart card contains an integrated circuit chip with a microprocessor and memory. They are portable databases that government workers can use to work better and faster. The General Services Administration, in partnership with Navy, opened a Smart Card Technology Center in Washington, DC, in September 1998. The Center demonstrates one card storing everything from "cash" to fingerprints to medical and dental records.

Vice President Gore Announces Access America Online Magazine
It's official! Access America Online Magazine moves from prototype to prime time. We have more than 100 stories so far--stories and links showing how government workers are using information technology and telecommunications to serve our customers and improve our productivity. Bookmark this e-zine, and pass the word. Send us your comments.