My first recommendation is that you familiarize with the basic photography concepts, starting with the exposure triangle. All cameras are based on these principles, so it is important to understand them, even for the cameras like yours that don't let you set some of these settings.

Understanding the above will make you realize that calling your camera "fully automatic" is an exaggeration. While it is true that there is nothing even remotely close to manual mode in this camera, there are many ways in which you can affect how the camera takes pictures, so you do have some amount of creative control. Examples:

• Exposure compensation: In lieu of a true manual mode, the camera allows you to set an exposure adjustment that is applied on top of the calculated auto exposure. So for example, if you take a picture and in the LCD you notice it came out too bright, you can set the exposure compensation to -1 stop and take another picture, and it should be darker.

• Scene modes: The scene modes are like presets for exposure settings that work well for certain types of pictures (portraits, landscapes, sports, etc.). So while you can't choose a specific aperture, shutter speed and ISO like you would if you had manual mode, you can go with these presets to get you closer to the type of picture that you want to take. If you want to learn what each preset does you can (a) read the manual, or (b) if you are technically inclined you can take a picture and then look at the EXIF data to find out the exact exposure settings that were used.

• White balance: This helps you get the right colors in your picture for the type of lighting in the scene you are photographing. An advanced use of the white balance control is to add an intentional color cast to a picture.

• Manual control over ISO: while the aperture and shutter speed can only be controlled indirectly via exposure compensation and scene modes, you do have full manual control of the ISO, which in some situations may help you get cleaner pictures, with less digital noise. You can also see this control as yet another way to indirectly affect the aperture and shutter speed.

• Flash on/off: This one is pretty obvious. Pictures lit only or mostly with on-camera flash do not look very good, the harsh and direct light from the flash is unflattering. The ability to turn the flash off is very good to have.

As far as inspiration to learn, my recommendation is that you do a 365 project. This is simply the task of taking one picture per day for an entire year. The pictures can be thematic (i.e. self-portraits, landscapes, etc.) or just whatever you can think of each day. You can upload the pictures to Flickr and share them on groups devoted to 365 projects (there are many of them), or you can just do it for yourself and keep the collection of pictures privately. But the fact that you have to get out there and take a picture every day will give you the motivation to improve and learn.

I also have to give you the bad news. If you follow my advice and get into the habit of taking pictures, you will eventually realize that you need a better camera. So you may want to start saving, for when that moment comes ;-)

Good luck!