The 10 Megapixel camera with the 18-55mm (SAL-1855) kit lens takes some quite impressive photos, and even better photos when you move away from the preset options.

 The simple user interface and power the camera provides make it prefect for a novice to pick up and use, now yes I knew a little about aperture, exposure etc. but even a good friend of mine could use it in a semi-auto mode after about a 2 minute demo.

As for speed I was surprised, it's quick at turning on, focusing, taking the photo and processing/storing a RAW + JPEG pair. And you might be pleased to know this camera does support SDHC cards as well as Sony's Memory Stick format.

The build quality is about right for Sony, a good weight, not to heavy, with rubber grips making the body feel sturdy and well built but the lens feels a little 'plasticee'. 

It's a very versatile camera perfect for everyday use on holidays and such. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in photography and wants to go to the next level from a point and shoot.

Available at Play.com • Jessops • Comet • Currys • Amazon

In theory this should give better performance and a beautiful interface, well that last part is definitely true, the performance can be sluggish at times but generally is fast and responsive.

Would I use it, yes if it would support scrolling on a mac and chat, but I'll still pay with it from time to time when updates are released.

The client does require the Silverlight 4 beta to be installed and works on PC's and Intel Mac's.

You get access to read and edit all your current documents on these new services and the documents you edit and uploaded in place of the originals and very quickly even over 3G.

Only this works, I've tried a number of QR Code readers on my phone and none of them work like this I just have to point the camera at the code and it reads it instantly, no processing and it doesn't have to be perfectly lined up it, yes it even works at angles.

So why an I so excited about this? Well lately I've been working on a project that will include a small print newsletter been distributed and this will allow me to link deep with the site from such print publications.

No only that but been able to provide phone numbers and the ability to dial them quicker then you could ever tap then out. Or displaying coupon codes that can expire and resolve differently after a set date.

And it still gets better all the links and codes are tracked my Microsoft who provide stats on how my codes are performing, plus as all the codes link through the big boy I can change the destination of a code without changing to code, great for when it comes time to change the site.

When browsing around the app store one day I found Pro HDR, a photo app for making High Dynamic Range photographs.

So firstly what is HDR? HDR is a simple concept of taking multiple images at different exposures, merging them together to create an image that captures more of what is actually there.

This iPhone app does the same thing you take 2 images at different exposures and the app does the rest of the work.

When it comes down to it, Pro HDR can create some really beautiful pictures and also some crap.

It's a very simple app and well worth the money if you have any interest in photography.

Not a big change from my first script but still worth publishing, in this version I display and copy the URL to the clipboard, download here.

on handle_string(theURL)

-- add scheme prefix if missing
set _firstColon to offset of ":" in theURL
set _firstSlash to offset of "/" in theURL
if (_firstColon = 0 or _firstSlash < _firstColon) then
set theURL to "http://" & theURL
end if
-- Process and encode URL
set theURL to do shell script "/usr/bin/python -c 'import sys, urllib; print urllib.quote(sys.argv[1])' " & quoted form of theURL
-- Create bit.ly
set login to "YOOURUSERNAME"
set apiKey to "YOURAPIKEY"
set bitlyURL to "http://api.bit.ly/shorten?version=2.0.1&longUrl=" & theURL & "&login=" & login & "&apiKey=" & apiKey & ""
set results to do shell script "curl " & quoted form of bitlyURL & " | grep shortUrl | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/[\",]//g'"
-- Copy to clipboard and display
tell application "LaunchBar"
perform action "Copy" with string results
display in large type results
end tell

If you do not want to copy the URL as well remove the line "perform action "Copy" with string results".

I decided to take parts of both of these scripts to make my own and here is the code (download):

on handle_string(theURL)

-- add scheme prefix if missing
set _firstColon to offset of ":" in theURL
set _firstSlash to offset of "/" in theURL
if (_firstColon = 0 or _firstSlash < _firstColon) then
set theURL to "http://" & theURL
end if
-- Process and encode URL
set theURL to do shell script "/usr/bin/python -c 'import sys, urllib; print urllib.quote(sys.argv[1])' " & quoted form of theURL
-- Create bit.ly
set login to "YOOURUSERNAME"
set apiKey to "YOURAPIKEY"
set bitlyURL to "http://api.bit.ly/shorten?version=2.0.1&longUrl=" & theURL & "&login=" & login & "&apiKey=" & apiKey & ""
set results to do shell script "curl " & quoted form of bitlyURL & " | grep shortUrl | awk '{print $2}' | sed 's/[\",]//g'"
-- Copy to clipboard
tell application "LaunchBar"
perform action "Copy" with string results
end tell
end handle_string

Replace "YOURUSERNAME" and "YOURAPIKEY" with your own details.

To install the action place the file in ~/Library/Application Support/LaunchBar/Actions.

I have never written any AppleScript before and now I understand just how powerful it is I'm going to start learning the language.

Well since then I've still been following the program and now find I'm getting a lot more done in a day.

Things is simple yet powerful and most importantly easy to use. The simple power of the little application is prefect for me, I put every little thing I have to do in to it ranging from full projects with hundreds of tasks to little things like post some of the drafts on the site.

However I do start to build up a lot of tasks that never seem to get done like the posting of the drafts, and every so often I set aside a day to get through as many of them as possible.

Things can help a lot with tasks and projects that have a start and due date by not showing them until you can start them and turning the check box red when over due and yellow on the day their due, making them stand out a little from the other tasks.

The iPhone is the perfect companion to the desktop version although both can stand alone they work better together with the ability to quickly add tasks on the road and mark them as done the second I do them and have it all in sync is wonderful. The only nag I have is the need to be on the same WI-FI network to sync, Cultured Code, the developer, has said an over the air sync is coming in a future release.

So is Things worth the $50 (Mac) and $10 (iPhone) yes most defiantly if you are going to be using to do lists.

The main difference is getting the files on and off the phone, both support the standard WIFI hard drive that many apps use but Documents 2 will upload and download Google Docs files were QuickOffice will upload and download to/from MobileMe's iDisk.

So far QuickOffice is in the lead here as I can share the file from my phone with Apple's MobileMe application and Google Docs mobile web app doesn't allow me to share a document.

However as both are currently on offer with upto 50% off I got both and here's my review of them.

Firstly Documents 2, it's basic and simple which I like I don't see myself tapping out full reports on the bus to work just maki small edits and the occasional paragraph or two. Documents 2 is great for just this with it's support for Google Docs, but every time I upload a new version of the doc it creates a new file on the server instead of updating the old one.

QuickOffice has a powerful editor with styling tools and is a pleasure to use. In fact I'm going to go back on my statement about not writing full reports on my phone, I've written this post in QuickOffice and just touched up, spell checked, added images and posted from a computer.

With QuickOffice I can work from most places and just touch up when I get back to the desk Before sending stuff out full of daft mistake because the iPhones keyboard isn't the beat and the auto correct can be more of a hindrance than a help.

I do like the simplicity of Documents 2 but the power of QuickOffice is so much better and as I have a MobileMe account the iDisk tools will do me fine although Dropbox would be better and whichever adds support for them might just win me.

Both these applications can edit and create spreadsheets as well but I didn't buy them for that I haven't tried or test this feature.

For now the one that has stayed on my phone is QuickOffice and until I see a major update in Documents 2 to fix a few little snags it will be the only one.

• iTunes will have subscription music
• Apple will roll out more MobileMe features
• Twiter will be purchased
• The iPhone will allow background apps in a limited form (i.e music apps)
• The UK Internet Piracy bill will not get passed
• Google Voice will come to the UK
• Google Wave will flop without a purpose
• UK telecom companies will start rolling out fiber on a large scale
• Microsoft will bring the Zune to the UK
• The Apple Table will not launch

That's what I say 2010 has in store for us and we'll see how well I do at the end of the year.