Samsung offering cashback upto INR 8000 on its flagship offerings

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Samsung has collaborated with Paytm Mall to roll out cashbacks of up to INR 8,000 on Galaxy smartphones. 

To avail cashback, buyers need to visit select Samsung stores, pick the Galaxy smartphone they intend to  buy, scan the Paytm Mall QR code at the store and pay for the smartphone.

Samsung cashback scheme is valid on models including  Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S8, Galaxy C9 Pro, Galaxy C7 Pro and Galaxy J5 Prime smartphones. 

The company's smartphones will also be up for sale at discounts of upto INR 6,700 off during the Happy Hours sale of the company on Amazon which will begin on December 12 from 12PM to 2PM.

“Our partnership with Paytm Mall will make it easier for customers to buy Samsung smartphones at never-seen-before prices. This offer gives us an opportunity to give more value to our customers. We will continue to wow our customers with such offers. This partnership is also a great example of Samsung’s ‘Make for India’ initiative in our distribution channels. We strongly believe in co-prosperity and this partnership gives us the perfect opportunity to work together with our trade partners on an unprecedented scale,” said Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Samsung India.

5 Signs Your Depression Is Getting Serious (and It's Time to Reach Out For Help)

© Unsplash / Watari Signs Your Depression Is Getting Serious

Sometimes it can be hard to know when to ask for help. Mitzi Bockmann at YourTango shares tips for identifying your depression and getting assistance.

For some time now you have been feeling really sad. Not yourself. And you aren't enjoying your life.

Your friends are telling you that it will pass. To just snap out of it. But you are wondering if you can.

You wonder if maybe you are clinically depressed. There are a few ways to tell.

Here are the 5 signs your depression is serious and it's time to reach out for help:

1. You can't get out of bed or off the couch.

How much time do you spend on the couch or in bed? You aren't necessarily tired but the prospect of getting up is just too daunting to face. So you stay horizontal all day, watching Netflix and feeling like a loser.

This habit is a significant indicator of depression. People who have been diagnosed with depression tell of the great lengths they go to stay out of bed - stripping the sheets, taking the mattress off of the box spring and leaning it against the wall, or locking the bedroom door. Whatever it takes to keep them out of bed and wallowing in their depression.

2. You have no interest in the things you love.

Have you lost interest in doing the things that you have always loved?

Does the idea of going to school or seeing friends or going out to dinner just seem like too much to bear?

People who are depressed isolate themselves. The energy that it takes to get out of bed and interact with others is overwhelming. So they don't.

Ironically, going out and doing the things that you love is a great way to alleviate depression, temporarily. Unfortunately, doing so can often seem too daunting to undertake and so people who are depressed just stay home.

3. You have overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and dread.

Do you spend much of your time running all sorts of negative thoughts through your head about how horrible your life is? What a loser you are and how no one will ever love you? Are you 100 percent confident that this will never change?

People who are depressed believe all of the negative thoughts that run through their heads. Unfortunately, they also falsely believe that the way things are will always be this way!

The truth is is that when one is depressed things can only seem hopeless because when one's mind is in such a bad place it's impossible to believe that the future will be any different.

The good news is that once the depression is addressed, that feeling of hopelessness can disappear completely!

4. You're impatient with those you love.

Do you find yourself losing your patience with those you love? Do you scream at your kids if their homework doesn't get done? Do you sneer at your husband if he asks you what is wrong? Can you not even talk to your mom anymore because her incessant questioning is just too much?

Impatience with those you love is a huge indicator of depression. The sense of hopelessness that our condition will never change and that we are worthless makes it intolerable for us to interact with others, particularly those who love us and want the best for us.

Ironically, this love is exactly what we need most in our life when we suffer from depression. Pushing that love away ultimately can make the depression worse.

5. Your appetite has changed.

Have you found that recently your appetite has changed? Do you find yourself indulging more than usual in Ben and Jerry's and Oreos? Or do you find that you have no taste for food at all? Have you lost weight and find yourself listless because you aren't eating?

Changes in eating patterns can indicate depression. When depression goes untreated, we can self-medicate with food, often to one extreme or another, which is not healthy and can make it all worse.

Eating well is an important part of dealing with depression. And failing to do so only makes the feelings of hopelessness and despair worse.

Depression gets worse the longer it goes untreated. Unfortunately, we hate to admit to being depressed because our loved ones, and society as a whole, tend to stigmatize those with depression.

Ask yourself if you have any of the symptoms above. If you do, seek professional help immediately. Call your primary care provider and tell her exactly how you have been feeling, using this article as a reference if you like.

Treating depression is easy. Living with it is not.

Cisco says IoT projects are failing, here’s why

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We’ve all heard about the Internet of Things (IoT) over the past few years and how it’s really going to shake things up. Even predictions by noted organisations seem to suggest so. IDC predicts that the worldwide installed base of IoT endpoints will grow from 14.9 billion at the end of 2016 to more than 82 billion in 2025.

Similarly, Gartner predicts that 25 billion “things” will be connected to the IoT by 2020. Even Cisco and McKinsey Global Institute predict that the IoT will generate more than $10 trillion in the coming decade—with Cisco predicting the market could be worth $14.4 trillion by 2025. While the smartphone market was the quickest business to hit the trillion-dollar-mark in history, the IoT space is, by definition, much larger in scope and is growing at an almost unthinkable clip — a report released earlier this year predicts that the IoT market will have a 43% CAGR through 2019.

However, despite the IoT being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there have been several concerns regarding the pace of this revolution, given the overwhelming majority of enterprise IoT project failures.

In a recent news report, Cisco’s Australian CTO Kevin Bloch has revealed that three quarters of all IoT projects are “failing”, primarily because they have been designed to solve individual problems, and have become siloed and unsupported as a result.

“The inaugural phase of IoT is characterised by numerous point solutions from a multitude of new -- often startup – vendors. Typically, these solutions have been designed to solve a particular societal problem such as lighting or parking. In each case, a complete IT stack needs to be built in support of the solution,” Bloch was quoted as saying by the news report. “"Eventually, customers find themselves with multiple siloes from multiple vendors that don’t interoperate, are not cybersecure, use different protocols, and generate more complexity at greater cost.”

The CTO added that IoT projects are also failing due to a lack of cybersecurity, qualified skills by those running them, project definition, governance, and support.

In fact, a study conducted by Cisco and released at the marquee industry event IoT World Forum in London in May this year also shows that 60 per cent of IoT initiatives stall at the Proof of Concept (PoC) stage and only 26 per cent of companies have had an IoT initiative that they considered a complete success. Even worse, a third of all completed projects were not considered a success.

“It’s not for lack of trying,” Rowan Trollope, senior vice-president and general manager, IoT and Applications, Cisco, was quoted as saying by media reports. “But there are plenty of things we can do to get more projects out of pilot and to complete success...”

For the study, Cisco surveyed 1,845 IT and business decision-makers in the US, UK, and India across a range of industries — manufacturing, local government, retail/hospitality/sports, energy (utilities/oil & gas/mining), transportation, and health care. All respondents worked for organisations that are implementing and/or have completed IoT initiatives. All were involved in the overall strategy or direction of at least one of their organisation’s IoT initiatives. The goal was to gain insight into both the successes as well as the challenges that are impacting progress.

Among the other key findings, the survey noted that “human factor” matters. IoT may sound like it is all about technology, but human factors like culture, organisation, and leadership are critical. In fact, three of the four top factors behind successful IoT projects had to do with people and relationships.

Also, 60 per cent of the respondents stressed that IoT initiatives often look good on paper but prove much more difficult than anyone expected. Top five challenges across all stages of implementation: time to completion, limited internal expertise, quality of data, integration across teams, and budget overruns.

Are you smart enough to answer these Google job interview questions?

When you're looking for a job, it's exciting to be invited for an interview. At the same time, it's natural to feel nervous. Tech companies are known for asking weird, confusing and, frankly mean questions to job applicants. 

However, cracking a Google interview is not a cakewalk. Candidates are bombarded with technical questions besides being asked some mind blogging puzzles. However, it is difficult to get hired at Google. The interview process is apparently long and terrifying. 

According to the JobBuzz - an employer rating platform from TimesJobs, shares some of the toughest interview questions asked at the Google interview: 

1.) Do you have an IQ higher than 130? 

2.) You are shrunk to the height of a 2p coin and thrown into a blender. Your mass is reduced so that your density is the same as usual. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do? 

3.) If I was talking to your best friend, what is one thing they would say you need to work on? 

4.) You're in a row boat, which is in a large tank filled with water. You have an anchor on board, which you throw overboard (the chain is long enough so the anchor rests completely on the bottom of the tank). Does the water level in the tank rise or fall? 
5.) Do you have a track record of doing something really well? 
6.) You have 100 coins lying flat on a table, each with a head side and a tail side. 10 of them are heads up, 90 are tails up. You can't feel, see or in any other way find out which side is up. Split the coins into two piles such that there are the same number of heads in each? 

7.) How would you breakdown the cost of this pen? 

8.) You put a glass of water on a record turntable and begin slowly increasing the speed. What happens first - does the glass slide off, tip over, or does the water splash out? 

9.) If we hire you, what do you want to work on? 
10.) Have you ever disagreed with a manager's decision, and how did you approach the disagreement? Give specific examples? 

Do These 4 Things and You'll Lose Your Belly Fat Forever

If your belly is where you tend to gain weight, and it's the hardest spot to lose it, we know how self-conscious it can make you feel. Doing countless crunches won't diminish your belly, though, so here are four ways to slim your tummy and help you feel your very best.

Incorporate More HIIT Workouts Into Your Routine

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the one type of workout proven to help you lose belly fat. It's the most effective way to lose overall body fat percentage, which is necessary if you want to lose your tum. 

Eat More of These Bloat-Busting Foods

MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids) are proven to reduce belly fat, and you can find them in avocado, nuts and nut butters, seeds, and olive oil. Just be mindful of how much you eat since these are also high in calories. Definitely avoid hydrogenated oils since these can contribute to weight gain. 

Blueberries are also proven to diminish belly fat, so make a point to throw them in your salads and smoothies. Pineapple is another belly-fat-fighting food since it contains an enzyme that helps ease digestion and banish bloat, making your belly look and feel flatter. High-fiber foods like pears, berries, veggies, beans, and whole grains have the same effect. Plus, they keep you feeling full longer, just like healthy fats, helping you consume fewer daily calories and reduce your overall body fat.

Don't Lose Sight of Your Macros

You don't need to give up carbs and go crazy with a protein-only diet. Instead, CrossFit competitor Christmas Abbott told us to embrace the macronutrient trifecta of proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats to help reduce overall body fat, which will aid in reducing stubborn belly fat. Including all three in your meals will make you feel more satisfied so you end up consuming smaller portions. Plus, you'll feel fuller longer, which helps you consume fewer total calories.

Get Stronger in the Gym

Although HIIT workouts burn calories, if you have lean muscle mass, you'll burn even more fat and calories in the long run. So include strength training in your fitness program, especially lifting heavy weights, at least three times a week.

Don't waste your time focusing on core-specific moves. Instead, do full-body moves like thrusters, which require you to use both your lower and upper body. These types of exercises save time by working multiple body parts while simultaneously engaging your core.