Month: July 2016

Owner of ClintonKaine.com wants $90,000 for Domain Name

Dan Uff July 27, 2016 0

A lawyer and artist from Washington, DC hopes that his domain name, ClintonKaine.com, which he registered years ago will bring him some financial reward in the form of $90,000.

A 28-year old by the name of Jeremy Peter Green (a.k.a. Jeremy Pegg) bought the domain name back in 2011 for $8.00.

In an interview with CNN/Money, Green said "I'd like to build a solo legal practice [with the money]."

Pegg, who also calls himself a socialist was a Bernie Sanders supporter said that he had a feeling that Clinton would pick Kaine to be her running mate because Obama sought out the same individual during his Presidential campaign before picking Biden. But he also bought ClintonBooker.com and ClintonBiden.com, as he thought about possible VP choices.

For now, he is using the domain to show off his comics and penchant for Harry Potter. There's currently a cartoon depicting Hillary Clinton fighting off Donald Trump. "I'm kind of helping the campaign by making Donald Trump Voldemort," Pegg said.

The Hillary Clinton campaign has field legal action against Pegg, which he also claims that the domain name "is his Trademark."

"It was my fan fiction site before she ever announced Kaine," he said. "With the lawyers they'd spend on, trying to sue me, they could just buy the domain."

Federal law prohibits people from registering domains that contain prominent trademarks if they're not the trademark holder and are seeking to profit from the sale with bad faith intent. (Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was awarded $32,000 two years ago after he sued a man for owning four parody websites with his name in the domains.)

Pegg says he'll start contacting a list of potential buyers after the Democratic National Convention wraps up in Philadelphia this week.

On his list are the Clinton campaign, the Trump campaign, super PACs and "wealthy people."

"It's a way a rich person can effectively contribute $90,000 to a campaign without violating election laws," Pegg muses.

Other Clinton-Kaine related domains like Electclintonkaine.com and Clintonkaine2017.com are listed for auction on GoDaddy for as much as $35,000 and $50,000.

Meanwhile, Pegg's ClintonKaine.com has a minimum bid of $25,000 on Flippa, another domain auction site.

 Apple, Inc.

Apple Stock has Best Day in 2 Years

Dan Uff July 27, 2016 0

CNN/Money: The iPhone maker provided another sober reminder of how its days of hyper growth are long gone. Apple (AAPL, Tech30) posted its second-straight quarter of shrinking sales, led by another drop in smartphone shipments.

But the bar has been set so low for Apple that the numbers, along with a less dreary forecast for the next few months, were enough to excite Wall Street. Apple stock spiked over 7% on Wednesday, on track for its best day since April 2014. If it surges 9% or more by the end of day, it'd be the biggest advance since at least 2008.

The hugely positive reaction shows how much things have changed for Apple. Just a few years ago, the iconic tech company was held to such high standards that even beating expectations would cause the stock to retreat.

Now, Apple can post a 25% slump in profits, a 16% decline in iPhone sales and further erosion to its margins and it's deemed not as bad as feared.

The lowered-bar for Apple makes sense though. Apple shares slumped 4% last year and, despite Wednesday's big rally, remain down 1% in 2016. Tech stars of today like Facebook (FB, Tech30) and Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) are up sharply the past two years and trading at all-time highs.

Apple's numbers do give shareholders some reason to hope that the worst is over. The iPhone maker expects to generate $45.5 billion to $47.5 billion in revenue next quarter, exceeding what analysts had been calling for.

"We expect slow growth to return and be sustained barring a serious recession," Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt wrote in a research report.

Even though McCourt still sees "many weak points," he expects "almost all of the concerns to get incrementally better" in 2017. That's why the analyst upgraded his rating on Apple to "outperform" and slapped a $129 price target on the stock. Apple shares would have to soar 24% above current levels to hit that mark.

Beyond the latest numbers, investors love how much of a cash cow Apple has turned into. The company used to hoard its vast sums of cash, but now it's spreading the wealth in the form of fat dividends and share buybacks. Apple returned $13 billion to shareholders last quarter alone and it's completed the vast majority of a $250 billion capital return program.

Apple also had the benefit of reporting results at a time when the markets are in a pretty good mood. U.S. stocks have climbed to record highs in recent weeks and CNNMoney's Fear and Greed Index is currently flashing "extreme greed."

The Apple effect of a few years ago was in full effect on Wednesday. Apple was not only the biggest winner on the Dow, but iPhone suppliers also enjoyed a bounce. Shares of Qorvo (QRVO)and Cirrus Logic (CRUS)rallied more than 4% apiece, while Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) and Broadcom (AVGO) also made headway.

CNNMoney (New York) First published July 27, 2016: 10:22 AM ET

Despite offering Anti-Trump games, Apple rejects Satirical Hilary Clinton Games

Dan Uff July 27, 2016 0

“Apple has refused to publish a political satire game criticizing Hillary Clinton’s email deletion, after branding the game as ‘offensive’ and ‘objectionable,’ despite many graphic Trump games remaining on the platform,” Charlie Nash reports for Breitbart Tech. “‘Capitol HillAwry,’ created by Base 10 Games, describes itself as ‘a political satirical game where the objective is to collect as much money through email donations as possible while maintaining a decent approval rating in the polls.'”

Once you have booted up your server you will begin to receive various emails and spam. It is your objective to delete any confidential information off of the server by swiping the emails to the right. Removing confidential emails will improve your poll rating. You will also receive political donor emails, which will help earn you money. Be sure to swipe those to the left to respond. The more donations you take, the more your poll rating will go down and if you do nothing with the emails, they will eventually expire and have consequences. – “Capitol HillAwry” game description

“There is nothing offensive about the game, we have played it. However Apple has rejected the game not just once, but twice, after the developers appealed the first decision and even hired a ‘professional satire writer’ for the project after being advised to by an employee at Apple,” Nash reports. “Despite labeling the Clinton email satire game as ‘mean spirited’ and ‘offensive,’ dozens of anti-Donald Trump games can be seen on the app store featuring highly graphic content.”

“‘Trump Dump’ is a game where the Republican presidential candidate is literally portrayed as a giant lump of faeces,” Nash reports. “‘Dump on Trump Twisty Wheel Edition’ and ‘Dump on Trump Bird’ are also published on the store, both featuring Trump being coated in bodily fluids one way or another… Another app where you can punch the presidential candidate in the face are also available to download.”

Read more in the full article here.

Merissa Mayer’s Payday: 4 Years, $219 Million for exiting Yahoo! CEO

Dan Uff July 25, 2016 0

Merissa Mayer's 4 year as CEO of Yahoo may turn out to be a big payday for the outgoing executive - that is, IF she steps down.

If she steps down, Yahoo! Will still owe her about $57 million in severance after Verizon takes the rings of the company.

As an added bonus for screwing up the company, she would still be owed $162 million in salary and stock awards that Mayer received over the course of her tenure. All told, she could exit Yahoo with around $219 million in the bank.

However, (as we all know) she can only receive that severance if she leaves the company, which is rumored that she will once the company is Verizon's.

In a memo to employees, she confirmed that she is staying to see the transition though in a memo to employees posted on Tumblr.: