When GrubHub started, it was just a pair of hungry guys with an idea.

Now the website (and mobile app), which allows users to find delivery and takeout restaurants nearby and order the food online, is a multi-million dollar company.

Back in 2004, Matt Maloney and Mike Evans were both working as developers at Apartments.com, a site that helps you find apartments and condos to rent. The job required a lot of late nights at the office.

"We were hungry, and sick of ordering the same pizza all the time," says Maloney, who is now CEO of the company. "It's kind of funny that it really was hunger that inspired [GrubHub]."

At the beginning, they just thought it was a cool business idea. It was a simple, quick look-up site for restaurants in your neighborhood.

But then, they started expanding. 

In 2007 GrubHub secured its first round of funding, totaling $1.1 million, from Amicus Capital, Origin Ventures and some angel investors. Now, it has raised a total of $84 million in venture capital and cracked the top 250 on the Inc. 500 list.

While all that growth has been exciting, it brought its own plethora of problems. Early on, Evans quit his job to work on GrubHub full-time, which was a big—and stressful—move. He went from a senior developer at a big-time website to earning $140 his first month as a salary. 

And they had to start hiring people—a big, intimidating moment for any company beginning to scale up.

"Mike and I aren't artists," says Maloney. "I can't draw for $%&*. So we had to hire somebody and put some graphics together to bring more diners and restaurants to [our site]."

At first, Maloney and Evans hired through referrals. Then, they went through a period where they hired solely through Craigslist, because they found that it was where you could find lots of "scrappy" people with an "entrepreneurial mindset," Maloney says. "Now we're at a place where we're hiring people at the top of their game with years of experience but still have that innovative mindset"

Job openings stay vacant for long periods of time and the acceptance rate is lower than ever, because Maloney can afford to wait for the perfect person to fill the spot, which keeps the company's employee retention rate high. "We call them unicorns," says Maloney. "The one person that fits the bill."

When you're hiring new people at the rate Maloney and Evans were, you fill up office space in a hurry. GrubHub now has more than 200 employees.

"This is our fourth office and at every point we've said, 'there's no way we're going max out this office," says Maloney. "Every time we've been wrong." 

It's particularly hard to find a new office when you're a rapidly growing startup. The typical process can take anywhere between 18 and 24 months, says Maloney, and when a company is doubling heads in half that time, it creates problems. Once all the leftover conference rooms fill up, you have to move on, but it's not always that easy.

"Corporate real estate is the bane of my existence," says Maloney. "In the startup world, life moves fast. In the corporate real estate world, life moves really slow."

With all that growth, GrubHub has still maintained much of its company culture. Employees have to be passionate about food, and most importantly, be in touch with its customers. GrubHub is so devoted to this idea that every new employee has to spend the first two days at the company at a customer service desk answering phones.

For GrubHub it's also important to have fun. Its office orders in lunch every week and has a party, and when it's nice out, workers have a barbecue.

Now, it's all about the future and finding better ways to serve the folks that use the service—both restaurants and diners. That's where the potential is, says Maloney.

For instance, GrubHub works with a restaurant advisory board to figure out what restaurant owners really want, and figure out the best way to provide more value to them. 

As for diners, GrubHub has more than 250,000 menus and can be found in upwards of 300 cities across the country. The company has also successfully expanded to the mobile world. Its mobile app now supports 20% of its orders. "Using it is pretty insane," says Maloney. "It's something that I never imagined when we started."

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"Everyone's talking about the importance of engaging employees, and the Facebook generation and collaboration tools. All of that is garbage … collaboration is a culture. It's not a set of tools," insists Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst.

Executives at other companies might tell human resources to go out and buy collaboration tools, but unless the company has the structure in place to let employees honestly talk to each other and the bosses, the tools won't help.

That may not be what companies like Box.net, Jive, Yammer, Asana, and many others who are selling enterprise social media tools want to hear. But Whitehurst makes a good point.

You can't buy your way to collaboration. If employees are not already working that way, tools become nothing more than a high-tech version of the never-used suggestion box.

Red Hat is just about to become the first and only open source company to post $1 billion in annual revenue and because of its open source roots, everything about the company is one giant collaboration.

It was a culture shock for Whitehurst himself when he first took the CEO job a few years ago. He cut his teeth on the military-like culture at Delta Airlines. Now he sits in pretty much the same kind of cubicle as every other employee who works at Red Hat.

Read more tips from Whitehurst: Management Tips From Red Hat's Crazy Culture Every Company Should Steal

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Hey, entrepreneurs and inventors, can't figure out what to call that cool new thing you made?

Not sure what it might be used for?

No worries. You're in good company.

Courtesy of Shaun Usher at Lists Of Note, who transcribed Thomas Edison's original brainstorm notes (see them here), here's a list of some of the names Edison and his colleagues thought of when they were trying to name what they eventually called the "phonograph".

Many of the names are derived from Latin or Greek roots. Edison's notes included the literal meaning:

Auto-Electrograph = Electric Pen
Tel-autograph
Tel-autophone
Polyphone = Manifold Sounder
Autophone = Self sounder
Kosmophone = Universal Sounder
Acoustophone = Sound hearer = Audible speaker
Octophone = Ear-sounder = speaker
Anitphone = Back-talker
Liguphone = Clear speaker
Minuttophone = Minute-sounder
Meistophone = Smallest sounder
Anchiphone = Near sounder or speaker
Palmatophone = Vibration sounder
Chronophone = Time-announcer = Speaking clock
Didaskophone = Teaching speaker, Portable teacher
Glottophone = Language sounder or speaker
Climatophone = Weather announcer
Atmophone = Fog sounder or Vapor-speaker
Palmophone = Pendulum sounder or Sounding pendulum
Pinakophone = Sound Register
Hemerologophone = Speaking almanac
Kalendophone = Speaking Calendar
Sphygmophone = Pulse speaker
Halmophone = Heart-beat sounder
Seismophone = Earthquake sounder
Electrophone = Electric speaker
Brontophone = Thunder speaker
Klangophone = Bird-cry sounder
Surigmophone = Whistling sounder
Bremophone = Wind sounder
Bittakophone = Parrot speaker
Krogmophone = Croaking or Cawing sounder
Hulagmophone = Barking sounder
Trematophone = Sound borer
Telephemist telephemy telepheme
Electrophemist electrophemy electropheme
Phemegraph = speech writer
Omphegraph -gram = voice writer or researcher
Melodograph Melograph Melpograph -gram = song writer
Epograph = speech writer, lecture or sermon
Rhetograph = speech writer
Kinemograph = motion writer
Atmophone = vapor or steam sound
Aerophone = air sound
Symphraxometer = pressure measurer
Synothemeter = pressure measurer
Orcheograph = vibration record
Orcheometer

And that was naming the invention.

Then there was figuring out what it might be used for.

According to "Inventing Entertainment," here's what Edison thought people might do with the Phonograph:

1. Letter writing and all kinds of dictation without the aid of a stenographer.
2. Phonographic books, which will speak to blind people without effort on their part.
3. The teaching of elocution.
4. Reproduction of music.
5. The "Family Record"--a registry of sayings, reminiscences, etc., by members of a family in their own voices, and of the last words of dying persons.
6. Music-boxes and toys.
7. Clocks that should announce in articulate speech the time for going home, going to meals, etc.
8. The preservation of languages by exact reproduction of the manner of pronouncing.
9. Educational purposes; such as preserving the explanantions made by a teacher, so that the pupil can refer to them at any moment, and spelling or other lessons placed upon the phonograph for convenience in committing to memory.
10. Connection with the telephone, so as to make that instrument an auxiliary in the transmission of permanent and invaluable records, instead of being the recipient of momentary and fleeting communication.

Edison started a company to sell the phonograph--the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company.  The company sold some phonographs as novelties, but the device was difficult to use and fragile, and the novelty quickly wore off. Edison, meanwhile, got bored and went off to invent the lightbulb.

SEE ALSO: BUFFETT: Guess How Big A Cube All The Gold In The World Would Be--And How Much It's Worth

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Toilets are a waste.

They are also simply out of reach for 2.6 billion people in developing nations, says the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). That's how folks who use no-tech alternatives like buckets or holes in the ground. Such lack of sanitation leads to typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and other diseases.

So last summer the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation spread $3 million in grants among eight research teams in North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, reports the Scientific American. This challenge is part of Gates' pledge last summer to spend $42 million to reinvent the toilet.

The teams were given these guidelines:  come up with a toilet alternative that doesn't need plumbed water, a sewer system, electricity and will cost 5 cents or less per user daily to build and maintain.

The teams delivered.

• The Dutch team's idea uses microwaves to turn human waste into carbon monoxide and hydrogen that in turn could become fuel stacks to generate electricity.

• The British team is working on a way to turn waste into bio-charcoal.

• The Canadian team dehydrates the stuff by running it between rollers over smolders.

• The U.S. team proposed a solar powered toilet that converts waste into hydrogen for fuel cells.

The foundation also wanted teams to include an "inspirational element" to their designs to get people to want to use these newfangled toilets. Frank Rijsberman, director of the initiative, told Scientific American that the ultimate design would be so desirable, it would be like the "iPad of sanitation," he said.

An iPad-like toilet funded by the founder of Microsoft. What more could a full digestive system want?

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Summit Series, the exclusive retreat for entrepreneurs, innovators, and all around big-shots, is raising a big pile of money to buy a mountain, according to multiple sources.

Yes, read that again. It wants to buy a mountain.

Specifically, it has its eye on Powder Mountain in Utah.

A source passed along this pitch from Summit Series:

I wanted to reach out to let you know about our next exciting project. We would love to get you in the game. It is completely private information at this point (so please keep the contents of this email and all attachments private), but Summit Series is in the process of acquiring some permanent space; we are buying Powder Mountain, UT. The goal is to re-create a culture year-round for innovation, entrepreneurship and kindness. We're in the process of bringing in our founding members, offering very aggressive financial incentive for those coming in that early and it would be great to have you out to the mountain to check it out.

We're hearing that Summit is looking for 40 investors to kick in $1 million each to pay $40 million for Powder Mountain, but we haven't been able to confirm that.

We reached out to a representative of the Summit Series, who said that it has no comment on the deal.

A local blog, the Ogden Valley Utah Forum, also reported that Summit Series is a rumored suitor for the deal. But it didn't have a price tag for the deal, either.

Forbes describes the Summit Series as a "younger," "cooler" version of Davos. In the past it's drawn big name speakers like Bill Clinton, Sean Parker, Peter Thiel, Ev Williams, and Richard Branson.

Powder Mountain is in a secluded in Utah, but it's accessible via to Salt Lake City airports.

It's quite the mountain.

There's night skiing...

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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During the summer of 2009 at the Singularity University, Google co-founder Larry Page challenged a class of 40 students to pick an idea that could impact one billion people.

One of the program's students, Jessica Scorpio, thought if she could get enough people to share their cars with neighbors, she could reach one billion people around the world.

For it to work, Scorpio would need more than a business plan. People would have to start thinking differently, and they would have to value access to cars over ownership.

After finishing the program, the Canadian-born entrepreneur turned her idea into a company called Getaround. It's like Airbnb for cars; it allows owners to rent their vehicles to peers for short durations.

Last week, at a coffee shop near Getaround's San Francisco office, Scorpio told us about her life as an entrepreneur and how she plans to change the world.

Here's what we learned:

• Scorpio thinks people should value accessing a car, overing owning it: "We feel transportation is a major problem. There is an over-population of cars. Cars sit idle 92 percent of the time. The total number of cars will double to two billion cars. There's no reason to put another billion cars on the road. It is our goal to make Getaround a global company."

• People in the Getaround community become friends: "We noticed recently that a lot of people become repeat renters of a certain car or owner. We've had people become friends through the service. You find a few cars that you like and you like their owner and you just share with them."

• Larry Page gave her permission to launch at Google: "The first time we met him, we said, hey can launch Getaround at Google? He said, sure why not. We didn't do that because Google had a lot of transportation options, and we wanted to offer the service to a campus or city that needed it a lot more. So we started it in Mountain View, which had no car sharing options."

• Owners make enough to cover their monthly car payments: "Owners, on average, make about $300 a month. We make sure they are getting rentals, so they keep sharing their car."

• Renters save money too: About $8,000 a year.
  

• Why Getaround is better than Zipcar: "One of the major differences between us and fleet-based car sharing like Zipcar is that we can operate all over a geography. So Zipcar really only plays in the densest areas like downtown San Francisco. We have members in North Bay, East Bay, and South Bay."
  

• It's her whole life: "Honestly, 7 days a week every hour of the day, I am focused on making Getaround a successful business. I think work-life balance is a personal thing."

Here's a full transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for clarity:

Business Insider: What's your relationship to cars? 

Jessica Scorpio: I've never owned a car. I love cars, but I've always set my life up in a way I can live car-free. Here, I get a car a few times a month for various tasks, business meetings, or for getting out of the city. 

BI: How did you start the company?

JS: We did an alpha at Singularity University, which is where we came up with the idea. We did our beta in 2010. We launched officially at TechCrunch Disrupt in May 2011. We are in three cities: San Diego, San Francisco, and Portland.

We just got a $1.7 million grant to launch in Portland. The grant comes from the Federal Highway Administration. Portland should be really great. Portland is the birthplace of car sharing and the city has a lot of people who are into sustainable living. It's ingrained in their culture. A lot of people bike there, or if they own a car, they just use it on the weekend. 

BI: So you went to the Singularity University in the summer of 2009? What was that like?

JS: Larry Page was one of the corporate sponsors, as Google. Every idea we came up with, he was like, no, think bigger. He came up with a challenge to come up with an idea that could impact one billion people in the next 10 years.

When we were germinating our ideas, we always had that lens. Can this impact one billion people? Is this solving a major world problem?

We felt transportation is a major problem. There is an over-population of cars. Cars sit idle 92 percent of the time. It's going to double to two billion cars. There's no reason to put another billion cars on the road. It is our goal with Getaround to make it a global company.

BI: What was it like getting advice from Larry Page?

JS: Page gave collaborative feedback. To be honest, Getaround was one of our first ideas and just really stuck. The first time we met him, we said, hey can launch Getaround at Google? He said, sure why not. We didn't do that because Google had a lot of transportation options, and we wanted to offer the service to a campus or city that needed it a lot more. So we started it in Mountain View, which had no car sharing options. Today, it's still very popular there.

BI: How are you different than Zipcar?

JS: One of the major differences between us and fleet-based car sharing like Zipcar is that we can operate all over a geography. So Zipcar really only plays in the densest areas like downtown San Francisco. We have members in North Bay, East Bay, and South Bay. 

Zipcar has created a big movement behind car sharing. People now understand that it's better to have access to a car if you can, rather than own one. Each shared car takes about 13 cars off the road. As a person accessing a car, you'll save about $8,000 a year.

BI: How does sharing take cars off the road?

JS: Basically, what happens is the owner's mindset changes when they decide to share it. They have the choice of sharing it or using it themselves. In general, when they have their own car, they do a lot of trips that are unnecessary. When they share, people will start batching trips and reduce the radius they go to and stay local. 

BI: What's the community like? 

JS:  We noticed recently that a lot of people become repeat renters of a certain car or owner. We've had people become friends through the service. You find a few cars that you like and you like their owner and you just share with them. It's real car sharing, you're not renting from a company. You're just sharing a car with another person.

BI: How do you pick cities?

JS: We work hard to make sure it is a great experience every time. We work to get the right amount of renters to owners, so that each owner can make a significant amount of money each month so they are incentivized to keep doing it. Owners, on average, make about $300 a month. We make sure they are getting rentals, so they keep sharing their car.

We have tens of thousands of members and we have 8,000 cars signed up across the country. Not all of those cars can actually share yet because we are not national. We go geography by geography. Those people are waiting until we activate their area.

BI: Tell me about the technology.

JS: We built our own hardware called the Getaround car kit and build the website and mobile app from scratch.

The car kit is really unique because it's easy to install. And it's way lower cost than typical fleet management technology. It tracks the car, so we can find it and so the renter knows where to pick it up. It also allows the renter to unlock the car really easily. Our biggest thing is making this a convenient transaction. If the owner wants to meet the renter for the first time, they can do that. 

They'll get a text message or if they have the app, it pushes a notification to them saying 'Jessica wants to rent your car for two hours, you'll get $20.' They can respond based on if they are using their car and if they want to rent it out at that time. If I have the app, I can pick up the car with my smartphone.

BI: What's your day like?

JS: It's not to scare people off, but it's really intense. I have several things happening at every hour of the day. I usually get up between 8 am or 9 am, not that early. I'm not an early riser. I used to do 6 am yoga, but it wasn't fun so I don't do that anymore. I usually go to bed at 2 am to 3 am.

Honestly, 7 days a week every hour of the day, I am focused on making Getaround a successful business. I think work-life balance is a personal thing. I don't worry about work-life balance, but I do try and have a healthy life. So I try and get 7 hours of sleep. I try to walk or bike to work. I try and incorporate healthy food and vitamins.

BI: So you like being an entrepreneur?

JS: I'm close to thinking nothing can phase me. Think of anything and it's probably happened working at Getaround. It loses its sex appeal pretty quickly. Luckily, I'm a hard worker.

At the beginning we had a co-founder burn out after like 30 days and the other one decided she wanted to go back to med school. Startups aren't for everyone. 

BI: Do you spend a lot of time with your co-founders?

JS: Late at night, my co-founders and I go through our accomplishments and have a few celebratory drinks together.

Sam Zaid was part of Singularity University. I was helping out with marketing and PR on Sam's other startup. We met Elliot that summer. Elliot is a really brilliant engineer. Elliot worked at Google for a number of years on the Street View team. Elliot helped build our first iPhone app. What I've learned is that you have to pick your people really wisely. We are around each other about 18 hours of the day. You have to get along and like each other a lot.

We are about 30 people now, mostly engineering because we do hardware, mobile, and web. We are starting to build out our marketing and operations side.

BI: Why is this idea taking off? What's changed?

JS: Now people see an idle asset as waste. People have made that realization and are trying to move their life into the cloud, but also make it very efficient. If you go to Europe for three weeks, you don't just leave your apartment empty and lock it up. Instead you pay for your trip by sharing your apartment on Airbnb. If your car is parked at work, you can pay for your parking by sharing it for two hours on Getaround or you can pay your whole car by sharing it a few days that month.

BI: The economy played a role too, right?

JS: I think the economic downturn was a big catalyst. When there's a new dip in the economy, there's an opportunity for new businesses to come up and get people thinking differently about stuff.

Five years ago, I don't think it would have been possible to do Getaround. The laws weren't there. The technology wasn't there. The social graph wasn't as far along as it is.

When money is tight, people are willing to do different things. These days, people are being smarter about how they spend their money.

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Marc Benioff is the only tech CEO to be named among a list of 35 national "co-chairs" for President Obama's re-election campaign.

The President's campaign released the list today and in addition to Benioff, it includes plenty of the people you would expect, like prominent Democrat politicians (Rahm Emanuel, Deval Patrick) and big names in the party (Caroline Kennedy). Mixed in are some surprises including actress Eva Longoria and some unknown regular people types.

The duty of the national co-chairs is to help the campaign raise money.

This isn't the first time Benioff has stepped in for the President's fundraising needs. He was among a couple of dozen tech leaders who paid $15,000 to $35,000 to be on the Technology for Obama fundraising committee. T40's goal is also to go out and raise support (and money) among the tech community to get the President re-elected. So yes, they paid for a job to help go raise money.

But he's got the knack for it. Benioff is famous for hosting dinners with the President that cost party goers about $36,000 a plate.

Campaign managers use the term "campires" meaning once they get rich, connected people on board, they sink their teeth in and never let go. Benioff doesn't seem to be feeling a pain in his neck yet.

If you are only going to have one tech CEO national co-chair, Benioff seems like a good choice. As the founder of one of the most successful salesforce companies on the planet, he should be an expert and finding those donors and making a sale.

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The Apple Investor is a daily report from SAI. Sign up here to receive it by email.

AAPL Down With Markets
Markets are wavering in early trading as the Euro crisis continues on. Shares of AAPL down with the rest of tech. Investors continue to be focused on iPhone adoption; update to the iPad; market share growth of the Mac business; further penetration in China and emerging markets; the evolution and potential re-conception of Apple TV; and platforms such as Siri, iAd, iBooks and social (Ping). Shares of Apple trade at 9.5x Enterprise Value / Trailing Twelve Months Free Cash Flow (including long-term marketable securities).

Last Year, Apple Sold More iOS Products Than It Has Sold Macs In 28 Years (Asymco)
Apple sold more iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads in the last 12 months than it has sold Macs in the entire company’s history. In 2011, Apple sold 156 million iOS devices, while the company has only ever sold 122 million Macs. And in the last several years, the company has sold a cumulative total of 316 million iOS devices, which is more than double its total Mac sales. Moreover, 2011 accounted for more than half of Apple’s total sales since 2007, when iOS was first released.

Mac Sales Down In January As Users Await Updates (MacRumors)
Citing data from NPD on U.S. Mac sales, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says that Apple's U.S. Mac sales were up only 1% year-over-year in January, tracking behind predictions that have called for roughly 20% year-over-year growth for the full quarter. Munster believes, however, that continued strength in international markets and the potential for new Mac updates such as a refreshed MacBook Air near end of the quarter will likely help Apple close strongly to meet expectations.

Apple's Share Of The U.K. Smartphone Business Climbs To Nearly 30% (AppleInsider)
Apple's share of the smartphone market in the U.K. jumped up 7 percentage points year-over-year to reach 29.1%, according to Kantar Worldpanel. While Android holds on to its lead, Apple is making inroads. Kantar also noted that the iPhone has grabbed a 48.4% of the U.S. market compared to 42.6% for Android, though those numbers differ substantially from other market research estimates. The company also notes that an estimated 71.4% of British mobile phone sales were smartphones during the 12 weeks ending January 22.

China Telecom To Get The iPhone 4S Next Month (9To5Mac)
China Telecom announced it would begin selling the iPhone 4S next month to its 130 million mobile subscribers. The iPhone 4S will go on sale on March 9 on China Telecom, and pre-order offerings will start on March 2. China Telecom has almost 200 million customers in Mainland China, including fixed line, mobile and broadband. 

iPad 3 Rumored To Launch In Germany Late March (AppleInsider)
With Apple expected to unveil its next-generation iPad in early March, rumor is suggesting that the device will launch in Germany only a few weeks later, on March 23. Last year, Apple announced the iPad 2 on March 2 with the international launch a few weeks later, on March 25, to 25 additional countries including Germany. This year, Apple is expected to unveil its third-generation iPad on March 7. If that date is accurate and Apple employs the same launch time frame as 2011, international availability would begin on Friday, March 30. Here are some iPad 3 design rumors: an 8 megapixel camera, a retina display, and a shapely backside.

iTunes Match Comes To Japan Bringing The Total To 37 Countries (AppleInsider)
Apple has continued the international expansion of its iTunes in the Cloud service, allowing iOS users in Japan to automatically download iTunes song purchases on their devices. International roll-out of iTunes Match has continued steadily since it debuted in the U.S., expanding to the U.K., Europe and Australia in December. It expanded to 19 more countries across Latin America and Europe in January, bringing its total to 37.

Apple Approaching 25 Billion Apps Downloaded (BGR)
Apple initiated a countdown to 25 billion iTunes App Store downloads. The running total currently sits around 24.5 billion downloads. Apple’s iOS App Store opened its doors in July 2008 alongside the launch of the iPhone 3G, and the company would later launch the Mac App Store in October 2010.

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The battle between Google and Microsoft used to be a back room affair. In the last year, it's turned into an very ugly and public war of words.

Now, Microsoft is upping its legal war against Google as well.

This isn't the first time Microsoft has used the law to fight Google. 

Microsoft seeks license fees from Android resellers and is willing to sue those who don't comply. Last March, Microsoft added its name to an antitrust complaint against Google that had already been filed by other, smaller companies.

But the new complaint is an escalation.

The complaint accuses Motorola of breaking its promise to license its patents under "fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) terms. Basically, Microsoft is accusing Motorola of charging way too much for using some patents related to the H.264 video standard, which is used for most video on the Web today. Microsoft says it licenses a basket of more than 3,000 patents from 29 other companies for a cost of about $0.02 on a $1,000 laptop.

Motorola wants to charge $22.50 for its 50 patents.

Apple has filed similar complaints against Motorola in Europe.

There is some irony in Microsoft's charge, as Microsoft allegedly asks for some pretty hefty licensing fees from Android resellers. According to Barnes and Noble -- who refused to pay up after using Android on the Nook tablet, and drew a lawsuit from Microsoft in response -- Microsoft charges more for licensing 6 patents used in Android than it does to license the entire Windows Phone platform that it built.

But the situation is a little different there, because Microsoft never licensed these patents for use in a broadly available standard. When patents are used in a standard, they generally are supposed to be made available under FRAND terms.

Google was quick to point out the irony, saying in a statement, "We haven’t seen Microsoft’s complaint, but it’s consistent with the way they use the regulatory process to attack competitors. It’s particularly ironic, given their track record in this area and collaboration with patent trolls."

Don't miss: The Fight Between Google And Microsoft Is Getting Ugly And Public

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As the world's first and only billion-dollar fully open source company, Red Hat has a unique corporate culture. The employees collectively have more power than any one person, even the CEO.

No one is more aware of this than Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst. He calls it a "meritocracy" meaning leaders arise based on their brains, not their spot on an org chart.

Whitehurst took the CEO job in 2007 after being COO of Delta Airlines, a cultural shock if ever there was one.

Like much of corporate America, airlines are modeled after the military. They are hierarchical and the boss holds the power. A public act of disagreement is insubordination quickly followed by the words "You're fired."

With Red Hat's meritocracy, the collective holds the power and people don't follow an idea unless they believe it's a good one (even if it's the CEO's). The CEO could even be called a moron on open forums where ideas are discussed -- and argued over.

"It's not about everybody holding hands and singing Kumbaya. A lot of people find our culture kind of harsh," Whitehurst told Business Insider.

But it's also a brilliant, unique culture that foreshadows what the workforce will look like when millennials enter in droves.

Replace the word "boss" with the word "cheerleader."

Managers worry about innovation, "but a general hierarchy structure is fundamentally in conflict with getting the best and most creative solutions out of your people. Opinions matter more," says Whitehurst.

"The more senior people don't necessarily have the best ideas," he adds.

At Delta, "I would say something, people would say, 'Yes, sir!' When I first got here, I told people to go off and do something. Later I asked how it was going and people said, 'We didn't do it. We thought it was a dumb idea.' I thought, 'Should I be firing these people?' But they didn't think anything of it."

He quickly learned. "You can't lead a group of creative, passionate people [by saying] go do this," he explains. "I've got to be more of a catalyst. In some ways I'm a head cheerleader."

Include anyone in the decision process, not everyone.

In a meritocracy, the people choose their areas of interests and participate.

The more they are interested, the more likely they are to excel and build up some street cred as a leader.

Decision making isn't about getting feedback from every employee. It's about giving every employee a chance to participate.  "Decisions don't require consensus but they do require employees being listened to," Whitehurst says.

It's not democracy. It's transparency.

We're not talking about group-think, or the ineptitude of being lead by the masses, Whitehurst says.

Employees don't get to vote.

Red Hat still has managers and those managers are still responsible for decisions.

"It's about transparency not democracy, I can make wildly unpopular decisions and at times I have to do that ... as long as I have gotten feedback and articulated my reasons clearly, I can do that," says Whitehurst.

For instance, when the company needed to buy an ERP system, Whitehurst chose one that was proprietary, not open source. People were upset. They had offered suggestions on open source products. But Whitehurst explained that the proprietary system was the only one that could handle all of their needs and people understood.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Dan Porter spent the last three years trying to create viral games.  He joined a social gaming company, OMGPOP, in 2008.

OMGPOP created Facebook games; the games performed well enough, but engagement was not amazing.

Now Porter and his company are dabbling in social mobile games and they're finding instant success.

A game they launched 10 days ago, Draw Something, has been downloaded 1.2 million times and users are playing it multiple times per day.

Draw Something is social pictionary for the iPhone.  Like Words With Friends, users can connect to people on Facebook.  They're given three words and can choose one to draw. The image is then sent to a friend who guesses what it is.

Draw Something is the #1 free app in multiple European countries and 50-75 drawings are bring produced per second; 5-10 millions are being created per day.

"I've done a lot of things in my career but I've never seen anything scale like this," says Porter.

Here's what happened.

Porter used a little bit of paid marketing to promote the app at launch. He also advertised it on OMGPOP. Both initiatives resulted in the first 40,000 downloads. 

When the app hit 100,000 users, word of mouth marketing took over and downloads exploded.  Users attracted friends by posting pictures to Instagram and Twitter and downloads started pouring in.

"It's user generated content people want to share," says Porter of the phenomenon.  "No one goes on Twitter and says, 'Look how many cows are on my farm.' But people are going on Twitter and saying, 'Look at this drawing, it's cracking me up.'"

The app has also attracted some celebrities and their managers who now want to work with Porter.  Some of the words to draw are people like Lil Wayne, and celebrities want to create deliberate Draw Something promotions moving forward.

Porter is taking Draw Something and running with it.  He'll be adding chat features and an ability to save drawings soon.

His next goal? To take down Zynga's With Friends franchise.  Porter's first mobile app, Puppy World, attracted 1 million downloads and, now that Draw Something has taken off, he's ready to double down on social mobile games.

Here's what the app looks like:

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You would think Foxconn makes iPads quickly, but according to ABC's big report on Foxconn, it takes 5 days and 325 sets of hands to make an iPad.

For more on what it's like in the factory check this out →

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Kevin Fox, a former senior user experience design lead at Google, has a few problems with some of the company's recent design changes.

He's nitpicking a little bit, to be sure, but given the sheer size and minimalist style of Google, these are the kinds of things that were probably heavily discussed in the company. Here are some of the things he said in a post on Google+:

Chrome's new-tab button losing the plus? Doesn't feel right to me, but data could easily prove me wrong.

Gmail's new flat conversation view? I'm pretty sure it's not as friendly for new users struggling with threaded conversations for the first time, but maybe I'm an old fogey. 

Clicks on logos no longer taking you to the top page of that site and/or refreshing content? That's just batshit crazy.

And don't even get me started on the eldritch logic that dictates that clicking on the 'News' link from a search result page doesn't carry over the search term, while clicking on 'Images', 'Maps', or 'YouTube' does.

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Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn opened their doors to ABC News so the world could get an inside look at the factory where iPhones and iPads are made.

We've watched the report taken some screen shots and given you a condensed version of the report to flip through.

It's somewhat disconcerting to realize the intricate gadgets we use are made by human hands. If you've ever tried to open up an iPhone, an iPad, or a laptop, it's hard to imagine putting it back together by hand. Yet, that's what's happening every day, thousands and thousands of times at the Foxconn factory.

This is ABC News reporter Bill Weir. He's our tour guide of Foxconn.

There it is, Foxconn. The controversial company that makes iPhones, iPads, and dozens of other electronics

Before inspecting the factory floor, Weir puts on this anti-static suit

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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The Vita is an absolutely gorgeous device. And, in a lot of ways, it's a much better device than the iPhone and other smartphones.

For playing games, at least.

But Apple and other smartphone manufacturers can learn a lot from the Vita. Here are some ideas that those manufacturers and developers should steal if they want to make better apps and games.

Use smart touch control schemes.

Using a physical analog stick is easy. Using a virtual one on a touchscreen is not.

But a lot of games — like Assassin's Creed — insist on using virtual analog sticks. They're wonky and painful.

Look at a Vita game like Uncharted: Golden Abyss. You draw a path with your finger on the touchpad or use physical analog sticks. That's a smart control scheme.

Seriously, guys. Get on it.

Add a back touchpad.

There's a huge amount of wasted real estate on the iPhone and other phones that could easily be converted to a touchpad on the back of phones.

Think about it: when you hold your phone, odds are your middle fingers are touching the back of the phone.

There are tons of possibilities for a back touchpad in games and apps on the phone, based on some of what we saw from games like Lumines on the Vita.

You need more screen real estate for better games.

The iPhone sports a 3.5-inch screen, which really isn't enough to show off all the crazy effects that the A5 chip and the rest of the iPhone's guts can generate.

The Vita's screen is 5 inches long, and it really makes a huge difference when playing games like Rayman Origins because you can appreciate the panoramic views and the sheer scale of some of the levels.

We aren't saying you need to go all the way to five inches. Four and change is fine if you know how to use it.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Verizon's 4G LTE network is experiencing outages across the U.S.

A Verizon rep tells us the outages began around 6:30 a.m. Eastern today. The rep says the outage does not affect 3G voice or data.

Verizon's official account just tweeted that it's looking into the issue.

We don't have any Verizon 4G LTE devices on hand now to verify the reports, but 3G does appear to be working in New York City.

This isn't the first time Verizon's 4G network has failed. In December, it went down three times.

If you're having problems connecting, please let us know in the comments.

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Tesla has been riding a wave of positive press with the introduction of its new Model X as well as the announcement that they already have $40 million in preorders for the car.

However, a very negative aspect of Tesla's original car, the Lotus-based Roadster, is just coming to light.

According to The Understatement, if the battery of the Tesla Roadster becomes fully drained, the car effectively becomes a brick. It cannot even be rolled.

Even more surprisingly, the only way to fix it is to have the battery pack replaced to the tune of $40,000.

Oh, and that is not covered by any warranty offered by Tesla. Tesla's warranty specifically states that the owner is responsible for proper care of the battery. Allowing the charge to fully deplete is considered improper care.

The Understatement says that from a full charge, a Tesla's battery would take 11 weeks to completely discharge and brick the car. However, if the Roadster was driven to a location and then parked, the car could become a brick even more quickly.

To date, it appears that five of the over 2,000 Roadsters sold have become bricks.

But wouldn't Tesla correct this for the upcoming Model S sedan? According to The Understatement, these new cars will share the same discharging issues.

With increasing steps towards the mainstream, Tesla may want to reconsider its warranty to avoid potential future issues.

Now check out some cars that won't become bricks >

 

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Most viral online content relies heavily on social media to spread the word.

Flash sale design site Fab, for example, reached 1 million users in five months thanks to a social sign up scheme.

How did sites become popular before Twitter or Facebook existed? And how do you spread the word if your target demographic doesn't tweet?

Michael Acton Smith is the founder of Moshi Monsters, a fast-growing site for kids that has 60 million users. Founded in England in 2008, it wasn't always easy for Smith's site to get traffic.

His target age group is between ages 6 and 11. That is too young to create a profile page -- it's even too young to add a pin on Pinterest.

After one year of pounding the pavement, Moshi Monster's traffic began to take off (see chart).

We asked Smith how he created a viral product without using any social media at all.

Create your own social features

Moshi Monster may not have Twitter or Facebook integration, but that doesn't mean it isn't social.

Moshi Monsters is really just a social network for children. On it, they can send monitored messages to friends, share links to their monster's pages, or adopt and play with a pet monster.

If you can't use other social media sites, find a way for users to engage with each other without ever leaving your domain.

Encourage users to share offline

Moshi Monsters gives each child a simple url and username so they easily remember and share it in offline conversations.

Don't underestimate mobile apps. People who don't know what Twitter is know how to use a phone

Even babies can use an iPad or an iPhone. Smith says little kids are fans of mobile apps and they pester parents to download them.

"People used to say, 'Kids are never going to download apps.' That has proven to be absolutely wrong," says Smith.  "Once a child hits ages 7-9, phones and iPads become the hottest gifts. 

Also, as Apple continues to release new iPhones, parents pass down old devices to children.

Use offline products to drive online products

Smith has launched everything from Moshi Monster music albums to birthday cakes and playing cards. He has 100 licenses and pulls in a 5-20% royalty from each. His toys are sold in major stores like Toys R Us.

All of the initiatives support his website.

Create something people love

"There is no more viral mechanism than making something people love," says Smith.

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A year after AOL acquired The Huffington Post for $350 million, sources say AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is getting frustrated with working with Arianna Huffington, who became President at AOL after the deal.  

So is Arianna on her way out? Is Tim?

A source close to AOL and its chief concedes that Armstrong and others at the top of AOL sometimes find Huffington a "headache" to deal with, due mainly to her lack of "operating experience."

But, says this source, Armstrong believes that Huffington is a "Michael Jordan-level" "star" who, as president of AOL's media group, is a far superior alternative to "a suit who has typical digital media experience." 

"The value of having her is huge from a recruiting standpoint. And she's an earned media machine. [She brings] incredible value in being a leader [with] public credibility," says this source.

The most specific complaints we've heard about Huffington from sources close to AOL are that she requires constant care and feeding from her underlings and colleagues and that she is an "empire-builder." For example, she forced AOL to change its media group's name from AOL Media to The Huffington Post Media Group.  

It is unclear if Armstrong harbors these exact resentments. We've only heard from people who know him that he has begun to privately complain about working with her. 

People complain privately about their coworkers all the time, of course. Sometimes people even complain about people who they like and value and hope to continue working with!

Our bet is that Huffington is not going anywhere any time soon. Huffington is a global media star, one who causes Madison Avenue ad-buyers to swoon over AOL inventory, has a clear vision for how content can and should be made for the Internet, and the will to execute this vision.

What's more likely than an exit, we think, is a slow realignment of her responsibilities. Right now, Huffington is a a "president" in charge of a large business group with line operating responsibilities. This is a role Huffington did not have at The Huffington Post, where she was merely the founder and editor. As time goes on, we expect that Huffington's job – if not her title – to change to "visionary leader."

She will be someone who leads AOL's thousands of editorial workers by example…and with calls and emails from her three BlackBerries, seven days a week.

AOL declined to comment on this post.

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Good morning! Here's the news:

• Google's Terminator glasses will be ready for sale by the end of the year.

• Nightline aired a special on Apple's Foxconn factories last night -- here's what you missed.

• Foxconn allegedly hid underage employees for its most recent inspection.

• Someone is paying tribute to Steve Jobs with a special Facebook Timeline.

• Dell blows its earnings. Cost-cutting only works for so long.

• Kim Dotcom was just bailed out of jail.

• This Princeton dropout's startup got the attention of Evan Williams and John Borthwick.

• Looks like there's more than meets the eye on the Office Suite for iOS story.

• Here's why there was porn on Best Buy's in-store TVs.

• Forget about the update to version 2.0 -- the PlayBook is still a dud.

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