Sarah Illenberger è un’illustratrice e grafica tedesca anche se risulta molto difficile, nonché riduttivo, definire quest’eclettica artista, il cui lavoro spazia nei diversi settori delle arti visive, inclusa la fotografia e le arti applicate. I lavori di Sarah stupiscono per la loro genialità, capace di rendere straordinario un oggetto comune, dotato di una spiccata carica emotiva che colpisce chi lo osserva.
Alcuni di queste composizioni grafiche sono infatti realizzati con frutta, altre con semplici oggetti e materiali di facile reperibilità, lavorati e assemblati con una grande cura per i dettagli nonchè reinterpretati dal suo originale e insolito sguardo visionario.

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If Y Combinator is the next PayPal Mafia, then Paul Graham is Silicon Valley’s godfather. Graham is the cofounder of Y Combinator, the investment firm that plugs seed money ($18,000 on average) into early stage startups in exchange for mentorship and access to its ever-growing network of alumni.

It’s the latter benefit that’s truly made Y Combinator a Valley powerhouse–YC’s vast network of influential entrepreneurs that includes breakout Valley stars such as the founders of Dropbox and Airbnb. (We attempted to capture this network on our list of the Most Innovative Companies in Business with this fantastic infographic.) Early on, Graham envisioned this network as a “replacement for the traditional corporation.”

“You know what’s great about the YC network? It gives the benefit of being part of a large company without being part of a big company,” Graham says. “The problem with doing a startup–even though it’s better in almost every other respect–is that you don’t have the resources of a big company to draw on. It’s very lonely; you have no one to give you advice or help you out. In a big company, you might be horribly constrained, but there are like 1,000 other people you can go to to deal with any number of problems. Now [with YC] you have 1,000 people you can go to to deal with problems, and you don’t have all the restrictions of a big company.”

The YC network, he says, now operates as a “distributed peer-to-peer replacement” for the traditional company. Comparing himself to an air-traffic controller, Graham says much of his time is spend making introductions and helping the YC community solve problems within the network. “Simon Willison, for example, the guy who wrote Django, was in a batch I think a year ago,” Graham says. “So when someone had a problem with Django, we just introduced them directly to Simon Willison, and they’re like, ‘Holy shit!’”

“As YC grows, the number of startups we’ve funded in the past keeps getting bigger,” Graham continues. “This latest batch now has 317 startups-worth of people they can ask for help…It’s very helpful for the founders. It didn’t really exist before. There are so many YC founders around now. It’s a small world: If I go to San Francisco and walk down the street for a few blocks, I will run into someone we funded.”

Read more about Y Combinator and check out our infographic about the next Silicon Valley from our list of the Most Innovative Companies in Business.

[Image: Flickr user Mark Sebastian ; Thumbnail: Flickr user Al Abut]

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Google’s working on a new device, a pair of augmented reality glasses that’ve been all but confirmed by the New York Times. We looked at this idea a couple months back–now here’s what’s new.

The New York Times isn’t messing around with today’s headline: “Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses By Year’s End.” Nick Bilton’s convinced enough by info from his sources to really go for it. And the article’s original pre-publish headline even borrows a little sci-fi iconography to spice things up: “Google to Sell Terminator-style Glasses…”

That’s more or less what we said back in December when we included a clip from that very film to illustrate what an Augmented Reality system could ultimately be capable of.

Now, according to the Times’s sources (who are “several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named”):

“…the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year. These people said they are expected “to cost around the price of current smartphones,” or $250 to $600.

The people familiar with the Google glasses said they would be Android-based, and will include a small screen that will sit a few inches from someone’s eye. They will also have a 3G or 4G data connection and a number of sensors including motion and GPS.”

That’s pretty detailed. Other leaks add yet more detail, describing a unique navigation system which uses head motions to scroll and click and a low resolution camera that views the world in real-time to feed data back to the wearer. They’re not designed to be worn long-term; rather they are meant to be slipped on and off about as often as you’d dig a smartphone out of a pocket. Google’s also said to be very concerned about privacy, and whether or not passers-by need to be aware they’re being recorded by a camera. As for data, the idea is that the Android-powered specs will tap into Google software like Latitude, Goggles, Maps and so on–with the bonus that you’ll be able to do things like check in to locations through the glassses interface itself.

Back in December we pointed the logic of this out–noting Google has “access to data that other AR firms can’t compete with and it has the globe-spanning clout to actually change habits.” We even guessed that we wouldn’t be wearing them 24/7 and instead would “make it a habit to slip on a pair to aid with work, navigation or shopping.” 

But where we suggested this was a gateway for Google to embed hidden adverts in the real world, all the while garnering data on the wearer’s habits–data it can sell to add partners–the new leaked information implies Google is not looking at business models for the hardware. Instead the company sees them as an experiment that anyone can join. Only if they sell well and are well received will Google look at ways to monetize the system.

That sounds like a development from the way Google’s monetizing Android. But really, it sounds more like what Google’s going to do is see what data it can gather about its users without invading their privacy too much–if that’s at all possible–and then slap ads everywhere they can. Just not at first.

[Image: Flickr user ladydragonflyherworld ]

Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.

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Breaking news from your editors at Fast Company, with updates all day.

Google’s Doodle commemorates 155 years since the birth of Heinrich Hertz, the first person to prove the existence of electromagnetic waves. 

Google May Sell AR Glasses This Year. Long simmering rumors about Google’s sci-fi AR glasses are coming to a boil. The New York Times has heard that the experimental products which could be able to to track locations, or identify objects being looked at, may be going on sale before the end of the year, costing somewhere between $250 and $600. –NS

New Premium Ads Expected From Facebook. Facebook may be launching tougher, more effective, premium ads later this month, which can be launched from a brand’s Facebook Page, and targeted at any user. With Facebook’s first Facebook Marketing Conference in NYC around the corner, it’s likely these are the first of a few changes we can expect to see rolling out soon. –NS

Apple Plans Second Enormous Data Center. Apple has confirmed that it is building a second data center in Oregon on a 160-acre plot. This comes a day after the company revealed the shiny details about a solar and fuel cell-powered data center it’s planning in North Carolina. –NS

–Updated 6:00 a.m. EST

Yesterday’s Fast Feed: Barnes & Noble Announces $199 Nook Tablet, DataWind Off The Aakash Case, Google Planning Satellite Farm In Iowa, and more!

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