EDITED BY STEVE ROSENBUSH

Or You Could Use a Pay Phone

Relief is near for those who fear wireless phones cause cancer. Wavelength Technologies in New Rochelle, N.Y., is introducing $59.95 wireless-phone cases that Chief Executive David Reitberger says can absorb up to 99% of the radiation the phones produce.

The secret: Nickel-polyester mesh sewn into the leather. That covers most of the phone, while see-through mesh drapes the display and keypad. Another component runs alongside the antenna, which is the largest source of cell-phone radiation. The product was created in Britain by Microshield Industries PLC, which sold U.S. distribution rights to Wavelength. About 200,000 covers have been sold outside the U.S. They fit 70 models of wireless phones.

The wireless industry has always insisted that its products are safe, but Wavelength was founded because of Reitberger's fears about his own wireless phone. He wondered if he was being hurt by the long hours he used it during a stint as a consultant. ''I'd rather be safe than sorry,'' Berger says. If others agree, it certainly won't be the first time that uncertainty has bred opportunity.

How to Do Everything

Not sure how to truss that thanksgiving turkey or prepare a pan gravy? Try www.ehow.com, which features 254 how-to articles to help prepare for Thanksgiving. And that's not all: The site has more than 7,500 articles on essential, if sometimes obscure, tasks from tying a bow tie to getting a mortgage.

It all started because Courtney Rosen couldn't find online information about fixing her in-line skates. The 32-year-old former Andersen Consulting manager searched the Web in vain last January for instructions on how to rotate her wheels. From that futile quest, eHow was born. After raising $3.5 million in funding last March, the San Francisco startup went live in August. eHow gets most of its revenues from advertisers. But eventually, Rosen aims to get about 60% of sales from commissions on business eHow refers to such sites as Amazon.com, Williams-Sonoma, and eBay. For example, someone who asks eHow about making a roux might go to Williams-Sonoma to buy a whisk, and eHow could get paid for such leads. Top venture investors like the idea. But as with Thanksgiving, the proof will be in the pudding.

By Andy Reinhardt

A Place to Put All Those Bright Ideas

Do you have notebooks full of scribbled ideas or a mondo Word file called ''stuff'' where you store stray factoids? A new software tool called eGems may help. Sold for $60, eGems tags each ''gem'' of information with its source, date, and location. That makes it easier to confirm facts or quotes later, to use them in reports with proper attribution, or to share them.

Here's how it works: Highlight the text of an interesting tidbit from the Web and drag the cursor over to an eGem icon on the screen. The software automatically notes the Web address. It also can sort and store graphics, and words that don't come from the Web, such as memos from a colleague. eGems organizes each ''gem'' by subject or other criteria. To use a tidbit, drag it into a document and eGem creates a footnote and a bibliographical entry. Researchers like the idea: San Francisco State University aims to buy hundreds of copies.

eGems' creator, Gemteq Software Inc. in Novato, Calif., says the program will be available for download from its Web site by month's end.

By Andy Reinhardt

Why the ''Tech Help Wanted'' Sign Keeps Getting Bigger

Just when it seemed hiring news in the technology sector couldn't get any better, it did. Almost three-fourths of technology leaders surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers expect to expand staffs in the next year. And the average expected gain is getting bigger.

The prime reason: Asia is healthier. Survey director Pete Collins says 73% of respondents whose companies do business abroad are bullish on the world economy--up from 29% a year ago.

PricewaterhouseCoopers technology-practice chief Paul Weaver spots a possible glitch: Companies plan smaller growth in IT investment after fixing Y2K problems. ''That's a warning sign,'' Weaver says, because job growth depends on customers buying IT products and services. But Weaver thinks the aggressive hiring projections, not the less upbeat investment outlook, will carry the day. ''We're seeing off-the-charts growth'' in the firm's e-business practice, Weaver says. Since few will risk falling behind in the rush to e-business, look for more investment--and more jobs.

By Timothy J. Mullaney

TABLE: Don't Worry, Still Happy

Leaders of technology companies plan to continue hiring thanks to continued optimism about prospects for economic growth.

           % OF             %
        EXECUTIVES      INCREASE IN
        WHO PLAN TO     TOTAL WORK-
        ADD WORKERS     FORCE THOSE
        IN THE NEXT     EXECUTIVES
        12 MONTHS       ANTICIPATE

3Q98        72%            5.5%
4Q98        73             4.3
1Q99        75             6.3
2Q99        78             5.1
3Q99        75             6.5

DATA: PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS

Bits & Bytes Contacts

Wavelength
David Reitberger, President: 914-654-8422.

eHow
415-284-1019

Gemteq
415-492-1913

PricewaterhouseCoopers
212-596-8000