Ask Lifehacker Live: Adam Dachis Is In [Update: Done]

Illustration for article titled Ask Lifehacker Live: Adam Dachis Is In [Update: Done]

For the next half hour, I'll be answering all your questions live, as fast as possible, in the comments of this post.



Update: And we're done! Stay tuned for the next one. In a perfect world, we'll be doing these every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4:00 PM Pacific time so check back then. Thanks for all the questions!


Questions Asked and Answered

These are just a few of the questions and answers that came up today. There are plenty more in the comments. I apologize to those I missed. There either wasn't time or I didn't know/couldn't find an answer for you.

What are the best Flash tutorials? (Must include ActionScript.), but GoToAndLearn is fantastic once you know the basics.

What are your top five apps for a jailbroken iDevice?
Actually, I can give you my top 10 :). But things have changed since I wrote that list. I'd say SNES A.D.X. (because I love Super Nintendo games), MyWi, MobileNotifier, Auto Silent, and My3G. But I think Winterboard and Activator deserve a shout out, too.


What are the best paid Mac apps?
There are only wrong answers to that question :). But I think Transmit would have to be a strong contender for me because I actually paid for it, and for the most recent upgrade, while Cyberduck is still an option. Cyberduck is a great FTP app, but Transmit is just great. I don't think you can really go wrong with anything Panic makes. They really put a lot of thought into what they do.


But there are tons of good paid Mac apps, but with the exception of Photoshop, Final Cut, and Screenflow, I prefer the free software in most cases. I think in a lot of categories the free versions are the best.

I'm looking to get my first dSLR. I'm looking at Canon (good deals through my work) but I can't decide between the T2i or the T3i. Is the price difference (aprox $90) worth going with the t3i? Or would the t2i be a better investment?
It'll depend a little on your specific needs, as the T3i is a bit bigger (which I think is helpful with DSLRs because the buttons aren't so close together), has the swivel screen, and longer battery life. They're both very good, though, and if you got a T2i you could pick up a cheap 50mm f/1.8 lens with that extra $90. That is a lens you should definitely have when starting out. If I had to pick between an older model with an extra lens and a newer model, I'd get the older model and the lens unless the changes in the newer model had some amazing new feature. Since you're not sure, my guess is that nothing about the T3i is hugely important to you so I'd grab the T2i and use that extra money for a 50mm lens.


What's the best source for learning how to program iOS apps? has a very comprehensive set of video lessons that hold your hand through the process. I'd check those out if you've never looked at Objective C code before. Alternatively you can grab free lessons from iTunes U. Off the top of my head I can't remember who put them out, but I think it might have been Princeton. Whatever it is, there is an Ivy League school that put videos of its iPhone development class online. Once you get the basics down, you can also get WWDC talks on iTunes (some are free, some are not) that are basically lessons from Apple devs themeselves.



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I'm getting ready to get started with arduino projects. If I end up with a prototype that I like (such as a home automation setup), how expensive/difficult is it to go from this stage to a more "finalized" design, with a custom made board and microcontroller? Or is this only feasible if you are going to be mass-producing the setup?