Blog Posts by Henry Blodget

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An interesting thing has happened in the days since Apple (AAPL) released its new smaller iPad:

Many Apple devotees have said it will become THE iPad, at least in their own personal use.

Why?

Mainly because of weight and size.

Once you've held the new iPad Mini, the full-size iPad feels like a brick.

Related: Apple's New iPad Mini Is Pricey But That Won't Deter Fans: TechCrunch's John Biggs

Apple analyst John Gruber says the Mini has become his main iPad. Apple analyst Dan Frommer thinks Mini sales will soon surpass full-size iPad sales and become Apple's second-best selling gadget after the iPhone. Seamus Bellamy and Brian Lam at Wirecutter say the iPad Mini is "the best tablet and way better than the full-sized iPad for nearly everyone."

All this despite a relatively low-resolution screen that has disappointed most Apple fans.

(I'm a happy Apple customer, if not a fanatic, and I think the screen looks great. But I'm still using an older iPhone,

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Earlier this week, Apple got a bunch of new patents approved, including one covering the "design" of the original iPad.

What does this "design" patent cover?

Mostly, it covers the fact that the iPad's "design" is a rectangle with rounded corners.

If there has been any recent patent that better reveals the absurdity of our current patent system, it's hard to imagine what it would be.

Related: Why Steve Jobs Was "Wrong" About the iPad Mini: Blodget

For the last few decades, the idea of tablet computers has often been discussed. Several companies created have prototypes. As far as I can remember, all of these prototypes were rectangles with rounded corners. (Do you remember a triangle-shaped one? Maybe a disk? Neither do I). Sharp corners, meanwhile, could potentially hurt consumers, so of course intelligent designers will round them.

But now Apple has been given a patent for the iPad design that includes its rectangular shape and rounded corners.

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As of this morning, New York Times poll guru Nate Silver is giving President Obama an 92% chance of winning reelection--an overwhelming advantage.

For the last couple of years, Silver has never shown Obama as having a less-than-even chance of winning, despite some polls that gave Romney an edge.

Unlike almost everyone else who prognosticates about the election, Silver has a highly detailed data-based methodology that averages hundreds of state polls and takes into account factors like economic data.

Related: Don't Trust Any Prediction, They're Usually Wrong: NYT's Nate Silver

But we're in "silly season" now, so every time Silver opens his mouth, the folks who are rooting for Romney accuse him of being an idiot, being "in the tank" for Obama, or both.

This criticism itself is silly. Silver is transparent about the way his model works. The model could be wrong, but Silver has always been clear about the methodology. Those who slam Silver mostly

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Having survived the hurricane (with scars), New York and New Jersey are now afflicted with massive gas lines.

In some places, these lines are reportedly many hours long. They're reminding people of the energy crisis of the 1970s.

That crisis, you will recall, was caused by a disruption in oil supply from the Middle East. In other words, it was a supply problem.

Related: Hurricane Sandy Ranks Among the Worst Economic Disasters: Mark Zandi

So, what's causing the lines this time?

We asked folks on Twitter. Here are some of the (sensible) theories that came back:

• There's still no power in many areas, so everyone needs gas to run their generators (DEMAND)
• There's still no power in many areas, and gas stations can't pump without power. This has increased the load on the stations that do have power and sucked their tanks dry. (SUPPLY)
• There's limited public transportation, so everyone has to drive (DEMAND)
• Everyone's panicked that they'll run out of gas

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The reviews for Apple's new "iPad Mini" are out, and they're generally very good.

Most reviewers like the form factor (light and small) and are bummed about the screen resolution--because they've gotten used to the super-precise "retina" screens on Apple's latest iPhones and high-end iPads. Normal people who haven't gotten used to the retina screens will likely be perfectly happy with the Mini's screen. And, for many people, the size and weight may actually be an improvement over the bigger iPads.

Related: Apple's New iPad Mini Is Pricey But That Won't Deter Fans: TechCrunch's John Biggs

One of the smartest and most influential Apple analysts, John Gruber of Daring Fireball, predicts that the iPad Mini will become the best-selling iPad.

Gruber prefers the smaller size and weight of the Mini because he uses his iPad primarily for reading. He also observes that the size is much better for traveling and for kids, for whom the full-size iPad is

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An entrepreneur by the name of George Lucas just cashed out of the company he founded and built: Lucasfilm.

Unlike many entrepreneurs who build companies these days, George Lucas didn't raise any VC money.

And that means he gets to keep the whole check Disney wrote for his company, which was for a not-inconsequential $4 billion.

How did George Lucas build a company worth $4 billion without any outside investors?

Here are the key points:

• He quit an early career when he realized it wasn't right for him (he wanted to be a race-car driver...until he almost got killed in a crash)
  
• He made a type of product he loved and cared deeply about (movies)
• He made--and learned from--lots and lots of different products (There were many Lucas movies before Star Wars)
• He evolved (Lucas's early movies were artsy non-commercial films)
• He studied and learned from the best mentors (Francis Ford Coppola, among others)
• He became friends with other extremely talented people

In the accompanying interview, my colleague Aaron Task and I discuss Facebook's latest earnings report with Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia who estimates that Facebook could soon make $1 billion in revenue from mobile advertising.

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The first of three major "lock-ups" for Facebook stock expired today, October 29th, which means that a lot of new stock is available to be sold when the markets reopen.

The second lock-up, which is much larger, will hit on November 14th. The third will hit December 14th.

Additionally, several of Facebook's senior executives, including COO Sheryl Sandberg, have received the huge restricted stock grants they have earned over the past few years and converted their shares into tradable common stock. So there's a possibility that some of these executives may soon begin selling stock, as well.

Related: Facebook Earnings: The Beat Heard 'Round the World

First, the broad numbers:

• Facebook's "float" is currently 692 million

To listen to both Pandit and Citigroup tell it, the decision was Pandit's: After a few years at the helm, it was just time to do something else.

Here's Citi: The Board of Directors of Citigroup today announced that Vikram Pandit has stepped down as the Company's Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board, effective immediately... Michael E. O'Neill, Chairman of the Citigroup Board of Directors, said: "We respect Vikram's decision."

Here's Pandit: After five extraordinary years, I have decided to step down as CEO of Citi.

Well, to anyone with even distant familiarity for what passes for honesty in corporate communications, these statements were highly incomplete--at best.

"Nobody leaves these jobs voluntarily," says Wall Street Veteran William Cohan in the