(FORTUNE Magazine) – Rolling blackouts and combusting dot-coms, dried-up rivers to the north and parched income statements everywhere: It's easy to mistake Silicon Valley for Death Valley these days. And as far as we can tell, the drought's far from over, despite the wishful thinking evident on Wall Street in recent weeks (see "Will Tech Earnings Ever Recover?" in this issue).

So here's some good news: Even in Death Valley, cool lives. Yes, despite the lousy market, America's lunatic dreamers and indefatigable innovators keep doing their thing, and the results are marvelous to behold--provided you know where to look. To save you that hassle, we asked senior editor Henry Goldblatt to lead a crew of writers on a quest for the latest and greatest in tech. Some of what they've found is just fun, like my personal favorite, "weather toast." Most of it is seriously cool and potentially lucrative (a physics-defying optical-signal amplifier, new local-area-wireless startups, and a biotech breakthrough using "transporter proteins," to name just a few).

FORTUNE's been putting together an annual list of Cool Companies since 1993. This year Henry convinced us it was time to extend our ambit to people, trends, and products. "But the smartest thing I did was recruit a talented team of writers, photo editors, and designers," he says. "They made my job easy." I'm not sure about the easy part, but I agree the result is our liveliest cool list yet. As always, remember we're not suggesting you put whatever's left of your retirement money in this crowd, though some may well prove great investments. But if you're looking for ideas, inspiration, and a chance to chill out and stop obsessing over the crummy economy, check out our "Cool 2001."

Rik Kirkland MANAGING EDITOR