Introducing the Showdown Plugin, a brand spanking new WordPress plugin that lets you create games on your blog and use your content in a new and interesting way. The plugin has two modes, a Battle mode that lets you present users with two bits of content and allows them to vote on the one they prefer, and a “Hot or Not” mode that lets users show just how much they like a piece of content. It works with pictures, videos, text and any other content type you might be hosting on your blog.

Want to see how the plugin works? Check out the Showdown demo video or check out my Joke Showdown or our Cute Kitten Showdown. Check out the demos and if you feel your site could benefit from a bit of fun, go ahead and download Showdown. It only costs a few dollars but can make a real difference to how engaging your site can be.

That was strange! Out of the top 24 results there wasn’t a single Windows phone. What was going on?

Well, looking closely at the article on the WpCentral, a website with a Windows Phone bias, I noticed that the title was misleading. The screenshot, captured by one of it’s users was showing cell phones with service plans. Well, any phone could come on top if bundled with a great service plan! And the screenshot doesn’t show what features and other options the list had been filtered with. It doesn’t even show out of how many results the Windows Phone was top ranked.

Just goes to show, with just a spot of ingenuity, you can make just about anything look real!

We met up at Manx Telecom’s Headquarters nice and early where they had a a van all kitted out to take us around. They have 2 base stations set up for the trial, one around their HQ and one at their shop in Douglas. The base station in Douglas has a range that extends over the whole of the promenade, so the main component of the trail consisted of driving up and and down the prom making full use of the technology. The had a USB stick that took a Sim card that let them connect to the 4G network which was plugged into an in-car computer. It was also wired up to a Wifi router to provide a hotspot around the car.

So, what do I mean by saying the results were awesome? Well, we saw download speeds of 52Mb/s, uploads of 10Mb/s and a latency that puts my home ADSL to shame. We first started with some uploads and downloads just to see what we could get, followed by streaming HD on multiple devices while video conferencing. All this, while driving up and down the prom. Here are some photos from the the trial:

Here’s my take on this new technology. When 3G came around, we we promised streaming video on the move, we were promised video conferencing right from our phones and bunch of other stuff too. The problem with 3G was that it just doesn’t provide the bandwidth, or low latency required to make those thing happen. The iPlayer app insists that you’re on a Wifi connection to work, Skype is flaky over 3G and you really can’t run any video conferencing apps (like Facetime) over 3G. LTE will make all these things possible and finally deliver on these promises.

Some fun facts about LTE:

• LTE uses part of the spectrum previously used by analogue TV. Switching to Digital has made these available for other purposes.
• LTE uses lower frequencies that HSDPA. This allows it to penetrate thick Manx stone more easily that current mobile signals.
• The technical name for the standard is 3GPP LTE. The term 4G is really a marketing phrase, but understandable given the fact that LTE is an order of magnitude faster than currently deployed technology.
• The technology for LTE is available for deployment today, but pretty much all handsets in use in the Isle of Man won’t be able to use this standard. Future handsets are expected to have LTE built-in.
• Peak download rates for LTE approach 300 Mbit/s for 4×4 antennas, but the actual speed will depend on base station configuration and licensing restrictions on the width of spectrum available.
• The first publicly available implementation of LTE was deployed in Scandinavia in 2009

Want to learn more? You can read more about their plans on their press release

So, I’ll be playing with it over the next few days. Anyone have any tips?

I love the way different phone providers integrate on Android. Once I select a contact and choose to phone them, the phone just asks me whether I want to use the standard dialer or pick one of the installed clients.

The great thing about VOIP clients is that it doesn’t really matter where in the world you are. As long as you have a data connection (over 3G or Wifi) you can place your call, and a VOIP service like Voxofon will probably be loads cheaper than your standard phone provider. So, if you want to give it a try, grab your phone and head to Voxofon’s website. Download the appropriate client for your phone and give it a whirl. I guarantee that you’ll reconsider how you place your phone calls after you’ve tried VOIP.

The lecture was followed by a session with the NASA astronaut team who piloted STS133, the last Discovery Space Shuttle mission. There are some amazing snippets they brought with them to show including a farewell reel to the Space Shuttle. Definitely one to watch if you have an interest in Space.

For those unable to attend or view the live stream, WiManx have placed the captured videos online for all to watch:

Here are some of the photos from our trip.

Users pick a goodie that they would like to bin and have to manage to stay in the game for 30seconds to win. If they win, they’re presented with a digital token and directed to the neared McDonalds store to claim their reward.

Truly innovative. Hope we’ll see more of these in the future, and not just in Sweden

You’ll note it took a bit longer to put together, so you may want to think twice before taking it apart …