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NASA and Microsoft Created a Mars Exhibit -- Start Up Your Day Roundup

Looking for the latest headlines in small business, innovation and tech? Our Start Up Your Day recaps are posted every morning to keep you current.[1]Lift off. Microsoft and NASA joined teams to create a mixed reality Mars exhibit.[2]Going global. Google’s Android Auto, a car interface, has expanded to 18 countries, including Puerto Rico, according to Engadget.[3]Play ball! Yahoo has launched a new service[4] allowing viewers to watch one baseball game a day for free.On the go. The Army reportedly[5] has plans to give soldiers tiny drones by 2018.Listen up. Doppler Labs has apparently developed the newest trend in headphones with its active listening system called Here[6]. References^ Start Up Your Day (www.entrepreneur.com)^ mixed reality Mars exhibit. (techcrunch.com)^ Engadget. (www.engadget.com)^ new service (www.businessinsider.com)^ reportedly (www.engadget.com)^ Here (techcrunch.com)...
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Look for These 5 Business Intelligence Tool Attributes to Effectively Drill Into Big Data

Join Entrepreneur and today's most influential business innovators in Denver, May 4. Register Now »[1] A shrewd business person is the one who sees the big picture, understands the scheme of things, predicts future trends and takes decision based on that. A few years back, this was achieved simply by keeping one’s eyes and ears open.Related: 3 Enterprise Business Intelligence Trends That Can Benefit Your Business[2]However, with the constant influx of information and big-data explosion, it has become well-nigh impossible for decision makers to do all these without the help of business intelligence (BI) and big-data tools. BI tools are to businesses what brain is to body, which is why selecting the right tool is the key here.Business intelligence tools come in all shapes and sizes even though all of them are designed to help business users to glean insights from data. A good BI tool doesn’t dump data in our laps but like a good elementary teacher guides us through our next steps. Here are some BI attributes or parameters based on which you can decide if a BI tool is worth its salt or not.1. VisualizationThis is the number-one characteristic that a BI tool must have. Visual data representation is extremely effective for self-serving businesses who are looking to reduce IT dependency. Panorama Necto 14[3], an infographics-based BI tool, helps make sense of data chaos in a visually appealing way. The infographic-based data representation gives a welcome relief from confusing charts and Excel sheets, making it easier to take decisions quicker.2. Drill-down dataDrilling down data means delving deep into the data, so that you can get exact answers filtered by time, location, source and other factors. This is a very important feature with the increasing pressure of real-time decision making. It allows you to get down to the…
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8 Things Exceptional Thinkers Do Every Day

Everything that we are and everything that we are not is an end result from our current level of thinking. Every great achievement in history came from exceptional thinking. Every man or woman to ever rise to the top of their profession had exceptional thinking that played a major role in getting them to where they are.Related: How Eating Ghee, a Clarified Butter, Will Boost Your Brain Power[1]I have never met a high achiever who lacked in their level of thinking. Our feelings, emotions, professional success and happiness levels are all affected by our thinking and what takes place on a daily basis from the neck up.If you aren’t currently happy with where you are at in life or in your professional journey, there is great news. You can drastically alter where you are and everything around you by changing your thinking. Just like any other important habit, you can’t become an exceptional thinker if you practice it only once in awhile. Working on your mind and thinking must become a daily practice.Here are eight things exceptional thinkers do daily.1. They focus on the positive.Every single day of our lives, we have a choice when we wake up in the morning whether we are going to direct our focus on the positive or negative. Exceptional thinkers know the importance of where they direct their focus. They fully understand that it impacts their energy levels and will determine how they perform. You can eliminate a lot of the worry, stress, and anxiety just by choosing to focus on the positive. Regardless of how big or small, force yourself to see the good in every situation no matter how miniscule it may be.2. They spend time in solitude.Exceptional thinkers know that we live in a noisy and distracting world and therefore prioritize…
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The Surprising Lesson Tupac Teaches Struggling Entrepreneurs

Join Entrepreneur and today's most influential business innovators in Denver, May 4. Register Now »[1] Twenty years after his death, Tupac Shakur is still making music.Can someone explain how that's possible? Seriously. He's produced 15 albums --10 of them posthumously.In a period of five years from 1992-1996 he created a dozen albums, eight feature films, countless commercials, music videos and even two books of poetry.And this was before the Internet.From one interview[2]:"I'm coming at 'em 100 percent real. I ain't compromising nothing. Anybody that talk about me got problems. You know what I'm saying? I'm coming at 'em straight up. Like a street person would. That's how I'm coming at the whole world. And I'm being real about it. And I'll grow with my music."I think it goes without saying: PROLIFIC.And yet...for all of his efforts, Tupac only had 13 Billboard Hot 100 hits[3]--and he only climbed his way to the top of the list ONCE with California Love[4]. Crazy, right?If Tupac only had one number 1 hit, how the hell do you expect to create something of preeminent, lasting value? How do you maximize your chances of producing a masterpiece or, even just a profitable business that sustains the test of time? Simple. You come up with A LOT of ideas.According to Adam Grant in his NYT best-seller "Originals,"[5] creative geniuses and massively successful entrepreneurs are not qualitatively better in their fields than their peers--they simply produce more work. A lot more. Which gives them greater variation and thus the higher chance of producing a massive success.Related: 5 Quotes to Remind You to Act With Urgency[6]Want proof?Shakespeare. Produced 37 plays and 154 sonnets in two decades. There are plenty of duds scattered along the way. Ever hear of Pericles[7] or Timon of Athens[8]? Nope, me neither. Thanks Wikipedia[9].Einstein: Transformed…
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Seriously? Uber Driver Accused of Staging a Vomit Scene to Collect a Cleaning Fee.

How far will someone go for a couple hundred bucks?According to Meredith Mandel, her Uber driver was willing to stage a vomit scene in his car. Gothamist[1] reports that she was charged a $200 cleaning fee when an Uber driver, named only as Muhammad, accused her of making a foul mess in the vehicle. Mandel claims that she did no such thing, and neither did her two companions. She instead alleges that he intentionally staged the scene to collect money. She has since complained to Uber, which has refunded her and says it will take “appropriate actions,” and she has sworn off the company in favor of competitors.Muhammad said that Mandel and the two other passengers were drunk[2]. Mandel refutes that claim, saying that none of them had enough to drink to be intoxicated after their two-and-a-half-hour dinner. She adds that the pictures he provided as evidence don’t add up for multiple reasons.The mess is confined to easily cleaned parts of the car, such as the plastic dashboard and floor mat. It can also be seen in the front of the car and on the driver’s side door, though Mandel says they had all been sitting in the back seat. Additionally, the color of the spill didn’t make sense considering what they each ate for dinner immediately before being picked up.Multiple accounts[3] of similar accusations[4] can be found around the web. Uber riders tend to think these incidents are scams rather than mistakes, likely because the cleaning fee goes directly to the driver. There have also been various viral stories about Uber drivers[5] treating customers disrespectfully, which doesn’t help the image of the group as a whole.Uber responded to the incident in a statement to Gothamist: “We want riders and driver to treat each other with consideration and respect which…
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11 Facebook Tricks, Tips and Facts You Didn't Know

11 Facebook Tricks, Tips and Facts You Didn't Know
Over 1.5 billion people regularly use Facebook. And as the social network has grown, the rate at which Facebook shares news, and releases new features and products has accelerated. It can be a little hard to keep up sometimes. With this in mind, I’d love to share 11 Facebook tips, tricks, and facts with you. This post will give you plenty of great stuff to help you get the most out of and better understand Facebook. From why you get shown certain ads and which types of posts get the most engagement, to how closely connected you everyone else on the planet and much, much more. Let’s go! 1. How to edit your Facebook ad preferences Have you ever seen a random ad appear in your timeline and wondered why Facebook is showing it to you? It probably has something to do with your Advert Preferences – a selection of topics Facebook believes you’re interested in based on your profile, Pages you like or engage with, ads you click on and apps and websites you use. It’s super interesting to understand more about what topics Facebook believes you’re interested in and within your Facebook settings, you can view and even edit these preferences. To take a peek at your preferences, click on Settings in the top right corner of Facebook:   Then select Adverts, and click ‘Edit’ next to ‘Ads based on my preferences’: You’ll then see the below screen, click ‘Visit Ad Preferences’ to view and edit your preferences: Now, you’ll be taken to the page where you can view and edit all of your ad preferences: It’s fascinating to dive into each category and check out the topics listed within your preferences. If you’d like to remove any of your preferences, and not receive ads targetted to that…
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