Which gadgets do you take on holidays?

Most of Australia is taking a sickie today, turning Australia Day into a four-day long weekend. It's the perfect chance to get away for a few days before business picks up and school goes back.

Improving mobile broadband coverage means it's practical to take smartphones, tablets and notebooks away with you - even if it's just to update Facebook, play games and listen to music. But you probably don't want to take them all, so which is best?

If it's a working holiday then I'd probably favour a notebook. If the budget allows, I'd invest in an ultrabook or a MacBook Air. A good keyboard is important to me, which is why I'd be reluctant to rely on a tablet or smartphone.

But if you're determined not to work, a tablet is probably a good choice. But it can be a hassle if you're looking to transfer photos from your camera, or if you rely on services which require a desktop browser (in my case, Content Management Systems for blogs). One handy workaround is to use Logmein to access a computer you've left running at home. It can be a little cumbersome, but worth the hassle if it means you can leave your notebook at home.

What goes in your tech travel bag?

In the week that Hydrapinion returns to your screen, Apple announced yet another record quarter in terms of revenue and profit.

Mac sales weren't too shabby: up 26% year-on-year to 5.2 million. That's at a time when total PC shipments fell by 1.4% according to Gartner.

Still, that wasn't enough to get Apple into the Top Five vendors on a worldwide basis - it would have taken another million or so units to displace Asus.

But Apple's already in the Top Five for US unit sales. The assumption is sometimes made that customers in 'emerging markets' are too price sensitive to buy Macs. Seeing how well iPhones are selling in China, that might not be completely true. And if the 'halo effect' kicks in there, we could see even more Macs sold in the coming quarters.

That said, I'm still not especially confident about the Mac's long-term future. We've seen iOS extend from phones to tablets, and several of the changes in Lion seem to be aimed at the iOSification of (Mac) OS X.

Talking of Lion, the summer break was more eventful than I expected, and so I didn't have time to install Lion on my iMac. But I did make a concerted effort to get used to using the Magic Trackpad instead of a mouse.

It was going well in most respects, but I found it very difficult to drag with the trackpad, whether that was to select a portion of text or graphics, move a window, or adjust the playhead of a video track.

Then my colleague Garry Barker pointed out that the Trackpad system preference gives you the choice of setting a three-finger gesture to dragging. I'm not sure if the alternative (Swipe to Navigate) is the default, but that's how mine was set.

That small change made a huge difference to Magic Trackpad experience. It might be obvious to MacBook users, but I'm not one of that clan. The moral of the story is simple: if something's not comfortable, see if you can adjust it.

Over the Christmas period, I have had a few changes in my life. The biggest has been a move back to Sydney’s Northern Beaches from the south west forests of WA. The second has been a bit of an epiphany.

Over the years I have collected all sorts of bits of pieces in the video and audio area; cameras, audio gear, tripods, editing software, special effects stuff and so on.

But the trip over – by car I hasten to add – meant I had to been brave and savage and offload a heap of stuff. There were two reasons for this. The first was simply for space saving as there is only so much I can pack in a Monaro with a rather large dog!

The second was realising I was falling in a trap to a degree, in thinking that a pile of top notch gear was needed to make the best movies and films.

So I have pared back to a Canon HV20, a Sony TRV10E, a cabled lapel mic and a Shure handheld.

I have kept Sony Vegas, Boris Red and Continuum, and using Smartsound for audio (along with Sonar and my Casio keyboard).
But there is a secret weapon involved as well.

I have been analysing a bunch of excellent TV shows in my spare time to see how these are made in terms of shooting angles and production values – specifically Sherlock, Dr Who, The Monarch of the Glen, Poirot and Spooks.

These have given me clues and impetus to look at script and technique as against the gear to shoot with.
Give it a try. Put aside the top shelf stuff and go back to basics and where you started. It might even be fun!

OK, it's time to face reality. The long, lazy days of the festive season are over, and the work-a-day world is back.

That means it's time for every self-respecting blogger to post their list of the topics they think will occupy the minds of fair-minded people during 2012. So here's mine:

1. Cloud computing: I know .. I know. The marketing hype ventured beyond the bounds of - well - everything last year, but that's not going to stop it topping tech to-do lists. Trust me - you're going to hear a whole lot more this year.

2. SOPA: While the Stop Online Piracy Act has been shelved for now, there are powerful forces determined to see it make its way into US law. Stay tuned on this one.

3. Big Data: The deluge shows no sign of slowing, and it will be the organisations that can deal with the vast amounts of data now being produced that will stand to gain a real competitive advantage.

4. Micro payments: As NFC chips make their way into growing numbers of mobile devices, expect micropayments to change the way retailers operate. This is tipped to grow strongly during the year.

5. Augmented reality: The ability to overlay the real world with data about it is a powerful concept. Currently only of novelty factor, this application will become a powerful tool for many businesses.

So, that's my top 5. What are yours for 2012?

I am not a fan of shooting dSLR. Yes I can appreciate the filmic look and all that, but the ergonomics are all wrong. By the time you have bought all the accessories and rigs needed to get one suitably kitted out to act as a decent camcorder, you could have bought Pixar AND The Mill!

So I have been waiting for a decent camcorder using the interchangeable mount technology that IS a real camcorder and not a hybrid whatever. Yesterday I might have found the makings of such a breed in the Sony NEX VG20 E-Mount.

It has a true camcorder body with a 11x telephoto / zoom lens, records to Memory Stick, SD or even external hard disk and 5.1 surround capability from the inbuilt mic. It can even take 16MP stills in JPEG or RAW.

The 3” flip out LCD is a corker, and even in direct sunlight was visible, but hey, give me its viewfinder for framing any day.

The menu system via the touch screen is easily navigated though, even without a manual which cannot always be said.

There are a few party tricks such a second forward mounted record button, a programmable control dial also up front and HDMI output.

But of course the E mount is the USP. There are a number of lenses already available and Sony and others either have or are working on adaptors for A and F mounted lenses.

3K is not too much to pay for a camera of this calibre I reckon. Check it out if you are contemplating the dSLR route for video. I think this’ll change your mind. See www.auscamonline.com for a full review or www.sony.com.au for other details.