Want a sign of how strong the iPad is? The device, which releases its 3G version Friday, has caused Microsoft to blink – and cancel its plans for a tablet device of its own.  

Gizmodo, which broke the news about Courier – a folding, two screen tablet that seemed to show a lot of promise, now has discovered that the Redmond, WA-based company has decided to halt development on the project.

Microsoft never formally announced Courier – though it has now confirmed that the project was squashed.

The tablet market is likely to see a lot of new competitors in the near future. Google is reportedly working on one that revolves around its Chrome OS. And many technology companies are taking notes about what the iPad does right and extending onto that.

HP, though, which has shown its own Slate tablet many times, may be taking a step back. Engadget reports the company has stopped development of the system – largely due to disappointment with how Windows 7 is performing on the hardware

HP, of course, acquired Palm earlier this week, so it could explore using some of that company’s technology in a tablet once the merger is complete.

The iPad, meanwhile, is going strong. Online advertising firm Chitika estimates sales of Apple's new product have already topped 1 million units.

Foursquare, a location-based application that rewards points and badges to users, is one of the fastest growing iPhone apps on the market. Now, another company is taking the framework of that technology and blending in films.

Miso focuses on the films you’re watching on your iPhone/iPod/iPad, awarding avid users who check in and share their favorite shows badges tied to genres and sub-genres of film and television. (See the trailer for it below)

The program’s still in alpha – meaning it’s very early in the development process. Developers have integrated the app with foursquare, though, so you can now share where you’re watching as well as what. And, as you might expect, you can easily announce your viewing habits to friends via Twitter and Facebook.

It’s an interesting social tool – and one that major studios are likely keeping their eye on. 

Microsoft is looking to expand the footprint of its Windows 7 Media Center - and that could have folks at Tivo real nervous.   

The company today announced that it was releasing what amounts to an embedded version of Windows 7 to OEM manufacturers for use in systems other than PCs. The Media Center is front and center among the elements Microsoft trumpets in its announcement, noting that it can be used in set-top boxes, connected media devices and consumer TVs.

No devices have yet been announced that use the feature, but it likely won’t be long before we hear about them. Among its many advantages, Media Center 7 lets users gather content from a variety of sources, including your personal collections, the Internet, broadcast television and more. It is, in other words, a DVR with multi-media functionality. And it has been widely praised in the tech world.

The reason it hasn’t caught on more is most people don’t have a PC hooked up to their TV and streaming through other devices, while not hard, isn’t intuitive to the average consumer. Putting it directly onto consumer devices, though, could present a huge challenge to services like Boxee and Tivo.

We’ll let you know when we hear of products using the operating system. 

Netflix isn’t the only movie rental service that has agreed to delay giving its customers new releases. Redbox has struck a deal with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal to wait 28 days before offering movies in its machines.  

The agreement might cost Redbox some customers, but it will ultimately save it money. The studios have agreed to sell the company DVDs at a lower price. The agreement is pretty much instantaneous and will begin with Universal's "It's Complicated," and Fox's "Avatar".

Time Warner has a similar arrangement in place with Coinstar, which owns Redbox, but customers are still able to get new releases immediately from Paramount, Disney and Sony.

It’s an interesting series of battle lines being drawn in the rental industry as studios see revenue from DVDs fall. Blockbuster still has Day One releases from all studios, but analysts still are skeptical the company will survive in the long run, as it does not have a good plan in place to stream video online. 

Stories about film studios that have had YouTube rip down videos featuring copyrighted works are a dime a dozen, but it’s not that often that you see the surfers of the Web unite in protest over it.

Constantin Films is in the middle of a PR disaster for just this reason, though. The German production company has asked the streaming video service to remove the hundreds of parody videos that used the climatic scene from its film “Downfall”.

What’s a little baffling is the timing. The parodies kicked off over three years ago, when some savvy editors put false captions to the German language scene showing Hitler furious he had been banned from Xbox Live. Other notable versions had him making plans to attend Burning Man, railing about the real estate bubble and even frustrated that his plans to dub his own Hitler meltdown video had already been done.

The studio says the parodies could trivialize the Holocaust, so it wants them down. Critics note that if the company felt that strongly about it, they could have (and should have) filed the copyright claim years ago. 

In the end, the parodies may have been funny stuff, but they used copyrighted material and Constantin apparently felt enough was enough. The Internet, though, doesn’t seem quite ready to let go.

Videos continue to surface, with settings attempting to bypass the removals. (The above video is a good example, assuming it stays up for any length of time.) And smaller video sites are still running the site.

It’ll be interesting to see if Constantin sticks by its guns, despite the Internet outcry or decides that it was a bit too late to the party to claim to be offended by the films.

(A warning about the above embedded video. It contains some harsh language.)

Demand Media, the company behind online hits such as eHow, Livestrong.com and Cracked, is expanding its reach, adding both Hollywood and Internet heavyweights to its board of directors.  

Peter Guber, chair of Mandalay Entertainment Group, and Josh James, senior vice president and general manager of the Omniture Business Unit of Adobe, have joined the company’s board to help the company in its content creation and audience behavior.

"Both Peter and Josh are legendary entrepreneurs in their respective industries because they not only broke new ground, but they also had the business savvy to grow their companies into sustainable market leadership positions," said Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt.

Guber, of course, has a long history in film, having produced or executive produced over 50 films, including “Rain Man,” “Flashdance” and “The Color Purple.”

Demand is growing fast and has a good bit of cash in its cofers, having raised over $355 million in financing. It had reported revenue of $200 million last year and was said to be profitable (though, since the company is privately held, that cannot be independently confirmed). It owns several Web content sites and remains on the hunt for others.

Once the subject of buyout speculation, Demand is now reportedly exploring a public offering, with a valuation of roughly $1.5 billion.  

While it mainly focuses on entertainment and instructional videos, Demand also has content deals with several newspapers, including USA Today. 

It was no surprise that Disney-owned ABC was one of the first media companies to embrace the iPad. Steve Jobs, after all, is a prominent board member. But now that the first numbers are coming in, you can bet that executives at the network are awfully glad they signed on early.  

In just 12 days, ABC’s iPad app was downloaded more than 212,000 times. And users have already streamed more than 680,000 episodes via that app.

“We are thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response we have received from our viewers and advertisers,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group.

Curious what's resonating with viewers so far? ABC was kind enough to list the top five most viewed iPad episodes:

·  Modern Family (“Game Changer”)

·  Lost (“The Package”)

·  Lost (“Happily Ever After”)

·  Grey’s Anatomy (“Sympathy for the Parents”)

·  Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (“Episode 103”)

(Note: This is a longer version of a story that's running in today's Daily Variety)

With consolidation sweeping through the film industry and indie shingles closing down at a rapid clip, it’s harder than ever for budding filmmakers to get a break. But a new Website that counts three members of the Academy among its ranks is looking to make it a little easier.  

Openfilm.com emerges from its beta period Thursday with a series of grants for filmmakers, its own distribution company and an advisory board that includes actors James Caan, Robert Duvall and Scott Caan, along with director Mark Rydell.

“There are certain people [whose films] I’ll go see and certain ones I won’t,” says James Caan, who is also chairman of Openfilm. “We need more of those people you’re going to go see. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”

The site, which has been in beta mode for a little over a year, aims to be a community for independent filmmakers, letting them upload short works and get feedback from peers and pros. Auteurs can also sell downloadable versions of those works through the site, with Openfilm taking just $0.69 per sale, regardless of the film’s price.

20,000 people have already signed on as registered members and Openfilm has over 5,000 short films in its library. As it expands, it’s looking to not only boost those numbers, but also to give additional exposure to members.

Already in place is a deal with Tivo, which syndicates three or four films per week from the site. Openfilm also plans to award $1 million in grants over the next 20 months. Four filmmakers will receive $50,000 in cash and $200,000 in financing. Any film uploaded to the site is eligible for the award. The six films that receive the most votes from the community will be viewed by the advisory board, which will select the winner.

“It’s sort of an ‘American Idol’ thing,” says Caan. “I hate to use that example, but I know there are people out there who are capable. This just opens things up for them.”

As the digital medium becomes a more important one for film studios, Paramount Pictures and Seagate Technologies are teaming up to offer film lovers a new way to access entertainment.  

Starting today, Seagate is pre-loading 21 unlockable films on selected 2.5-inch, 500 GB FreeAgent Go portable hard drives, letting buyers transport the digital media wherever they go. One film – “Star Trek” – will be free to buyers.

Users create an account on a Paramount website and will typically pay between $10 and $15 for additional films they unlock. Additional titles will be available via the Website moving forward.

The remaining films are a catalog-heavy collection (with a couple of recent titles included). Owners of the portable hard drive can easily delete films they have no interest in.

“We wanted to give consumers the ability to pick and choose instead of force feeding them a specific catalog,” says Malik Ducard, senior vice president of Digital Distribution, The Americas, Paramount Digital Entertainment.

The films are licensed for multiple devices, letting owners watch them on their PC or, if they own one of Seagate’s FreeAgent Theater+ HD media players, on their home television.

While digital distribution is nothing new, the bundling of digital films on hard drives is a first.

“We want to be where the consumers are at,” says Ducard. “This category really seemed like a natural where you have these hard drives that have a healthy amount of storage. There are consumers who hunger for this and we were happy to bring the content to the table.”

For Seagate, the partnership keeps physical media top of mind as cloud computing begins to encroach into the world of digital distribution.

“There is a consumer need for people who want to use and interact with their hard drive wherever they want,” says Darcy Clarkson, vice president of sales and marketing for Seagate. “Right now that solution is kind of tough. … We think there’s a great opportunity here.” 

The full list of pre-loaded films is after the break:

Netflix subscribers are going to have to wait a bit longer to see “Avatar” when it hits home video - but they will be able to watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" whenever they want.  

Fox – along with Universal – have struck new deals with the video rental service that will delay disc-by-mail rentals of newly released films by 28 days. (Warner Bros. signed a similar arrangement in January.)

Netflix, in return, gains permission to stream a wider array of films and television programming online, including all prior seasons of "Lie to Me," "Bones," "24," and "King of the Hill," complete seasons of library TV hits such as "Prison Break," "Arrested Development" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and films including "Aliens," "The Thin Red Line" and "Romancing the Stone" for Fox.

Universal films that will join the Watch Instantly queue include "Gosford Park" and "Billy Elliott" along with library titles including "The Pianist," "Being John Malkovich" and "Do the Right Thing".

The deals go into effect with “Avatar,” which won’t be available to Netflix customers until 28 days after its April 22 release and "It's Complicated," which will be available to subscribers 28 days after its April 27 street date.