The Lifehacker Show is back with a new format. Come check out our first episode where we answer a variety of questions from you, the readers. We'll discuss how to access your home network from afar, remap keys in OS X and Windows, hook up multiple screens to a laptop, find an apartment equidistant from three offices, learn how to get started with open-source development projects, and much more. Come check it out!

What's New?

The Lifehacker Show has been on hiatus for a few months because we've been thinking about a new approach. As much as we loved the old format, we didn't have enough time to do it justice and write all our posts. We wanted to try something that we could put together a little faster and also interact more with you, our readers. (Additionally, this format allows us to provide an audio version of the podcast which was a frequent request.) Over the past few weeks we asked you for questions and answered 11 of them as a trial run. Rather than shelve the test episode, we decided to share it with you and get your feedback. This episode only answers reader-submitted questions, but in future episodes we'll be adding a few other things:

• Top news stories of the week
• Our favorite tips and posts of the week
• The downloads of the day

If there's anything else you think would make a good addition to the show, please let us know in the comments. Remember, this was just a trial run to try out the new format. As we release future episodes we'll be working to make things better.

What's in this Episode?

We answered 11 reader questions this time around. Here's what we covered:

1. How do I resize my Windows Bootcamp partition?
   • You can't really, but Whitson has some suggestions in the show. We've never covered the process step-by-step, but you can find a lot of the information you need in his tutorial on how to migrate to a solid-state drive without reinstalling Windows.
2. What's the best online survey tool?
   • We use Polldaddy on Lifehacker.
   • The forms in Google Docs are nice, too, and they're embeddable.
3. How do I get involved with open-source development projects?
   • We like finding projects on Github.
   • You can find Adam Pash's projects here
4. How do I access my home server from outside my local network?
   • Learn about port-forwarding, or your home network in general.
5. How do I get Siri on a non-iPhone 4S?
   • With Spire, but we don't recommend it.
6. How can I get the most out of FreeNAS when serving files to multiple computers?
   • We all had many opinions about this. For some good FreeNAS tutorials, check out our original FreeNAS guide and our guide to turning your FreeNAS box into an internet PVR.
7. How can I hook up 2-3 screens to my laptop on a budget?
   • Try a USB display adapter or USB display.
   • Use AirSharing to turn a mobile device or other computer into another monitor (although it's not exactly the most responsive monitor you'll ever use).
8. Is there a way to get home and end key functionality on my Apple keyboard?
   • Just use fn+arrow keys.
   • Remap your keyboard with KeyRemap4Macbook
9. How can I find an apartment that's equidistant from multiple work locations?
   • A combination of Meet In Between Us and PadMapper can do the trick.
10. How can I remap function keys on my Windows keyboard?
    • AutoHotkey can get the job done.
    • These time-saving AutoHotkey tricks, this keyboard shortcut mapping guide, performing nearly any system task with AutoHotkey, and this AutoHotkey automation guide should help you learn the skills you need.
11. What's a great, inexpensive DIY waterproofing solution for a DSLR camera?
    • Check out a bunch of options we rounded up.

How Do I Download the Podcast?

You can watch the Ask Lifehacker Podcast on our YouTube Channel or every Friday at 8:00 AM (PT) on lifehacker.com. We'll be updating our iTunes feeds and posting the show in more places next week, but for now you can download* via these links:

• Video (720p H.264)
• Audio (192kbps MP3)

*Right click and choose to save the file to download directly to your computer.

Thanks for watching (or listening)!

How Do I Submit a Question?

There are three ways to send in your question:

• Record a video, upload it somewhere, and send a link to tips+asklhshow@lifehacker.com
• Call (347) 687-8109 and record a question. Calls are awesome! We like them!
• Email your question to tips+asklhshow@lifehacker.com.

Please keep your questions as brief as possible. This means about 3-5 sentences for emails and 30-60 seconds for calls and videos. Your questions can be specific, but broader questions are generally better because they'll apply to more people. For example, "how can I breathe new life into my old PDA?" is much better than "what can I do with an old HP iPAQ 210?" Either way, we look forward to hearing from you!

I listen to a lot of podcasts—they're a convenient way to absorb information while driving, working out, or doing tasks that don't require your complete concentration. Flapcast is a webapp that keeps your preferred podcasts in the cloud you can listen to from any computer.

I use BeyondPod with my Android phone to keep my two or three preferred podcasts ready, but there are several others I like to listen to occasionally. I don't want to automatically download these, but it's nice to have them available by going to Flapcast.

The webapp also has a social component that you can friend other uses and see what podcasts they subscribe to. I couldn't rate that since the webapp is pretty new and I didn't see anyone I know that already has a profile there, but I'm sure it works as advertised. The search function lists a few podcasts, but I wasn't able to find old favorites like The Survival Podcast or Paul Wheaton's Permaculture Podcast via Flapcast's search. You can still add these podcasts manually via their OPML file in iTunes but that's a pain for those of us who don't like using iTunes in the first place.

It would also be nice if the webapp could somehow remember your place in a podcast episode when you navigate away, but since it doesn't actually download the podcast there's no way to bookmark the stream.

These few flaws aside, Flapcast seems to work well and is good for listening to podcasts while at your computer if you're not a fan of iTunes. If you want to explore the social side of Flapcast, feel free to add me as a friend by searching for my name.

Flapcast | via Make Use Of

There's no shortage of podcast managers for Android, but they run the gamut from simplistic to feature-rich. We tested a few, but found that DoggCatcher is the best option to find, download, and organize your podcasts on your Android phone.

DoggCatcher

Platform: Android
Price: $4.99 (Free Trial Available)
Download Page

• Supports audio and video podcasts
• Automatically downloads new episodes on a regular schedule or on-demand
• Can be configured to only download podcasts over Wi-Fi, at night, or when the phone is not in use
• Add your own feeds, import from OPML, Google Reader, or Google Listen, or browse DoggCatcher's massive directory of shows to find shows to subscribe to
• Supports private and authenticated feeds that require login before downloading
• Offers variable speed playback (via free third-party audio library)
• Remembers playback position so you can return to where you left off after exiting the app
• Suggests new podcasts based on the ones you're currently subscribed to
• Supports offline playback, does not need an internet connection
• Allows you to specify how many episodes to keep on your SD card/download at one time
• Create "virtual feeds" of other files on your Android phone, like audiobooks
• Also supports reading RSS feeds, imports from Google Reader
• Extremely active user community and development cycle - developer actively responds to feature requests

DoggCatcher's flexibility is its strongest suit. The fact that you get audio, video ,and RSS feeds from your favorite sites in the same app is great, and the fact that DoggCatcher remembers playback position for all of your media is a feature you won't be able to live without once you have it. DoggCatcher's interface is easy to use, and its directory is rich. You'll likely find the podcasts you want to subscribe to and you won't need to import from another source, but if you keep your podcasts in Google Reader or another podcast catcher on the desktop, you can import them via RSS or OPML quickly. The fact that the app can download your podcasts at night or only over Wi-Fi will make sure you never smash through your data cap by downloading new episodes.

Many of the app's features are available in its competition, but DoggCatcher's active development (I mean, just look at this product roadmap page) and accessible, helpful user community make it easier to find help or beg new features if there's something you want in the app. Plus, it supports every version of Android, including super-old phones and Honeycomb tablets.

The one thing we wish DoggCatcher were a bit better at is handling failed downloads, retries, and feeds that update with multiple new episodes at once. Failed downloads can be tricky to retry, and episodes where two or three episodes get published at one time can often result with the most recent episode available to listen to and the other two still missing. Also, DoggCatcher is admittedly pricey. It used to be more expensive, but even $4.99 can be a tough sell, even considering its impressive features.

BeyondPod ($6.99, Free Trial Available) is DoggCatcher's biggest competition, and does almost everything that DoggCatcher does. BeyondPod has a leg up because it supports syncing unread/read items and starred items with Google Reader, can change your Wi-Fi state to download podcasts (and then turn it back off again when complete,) and it can build "smart playlists" based on podcasts you actually listen to and only download those regularly. At the same time, it's more expensive than DoggCatcher for the same feature set, its interface needs some work (text often went right off-screen and was frequently cut off or unreadable), its catalog of shows isn't as deep, it won't suggest shows to you based on the ones you like, and one of its banner features: the ability to turn Wi-Fi on, download new episodes, and then turn it back off, was a bit buggy in our tests and sometimes failed to turn Wi-Fi back off after downloads. If it had worked properly, things may have been different. Still, BeyondPod is an exceptional alternative to DoggCatcher, and it can easily trade jabs over those features. Plus, we know many of you prefer it to DoggCatcher.

Pocket Casts ($2.99) is another alternative that we've mentioned before, and while its Android version started out as a pretty awful port of its iOS cousin, the UI has come a long way and really fits in with the Android look and feel. Still, it's missing the ability to build playlists automatically and scheduled downloads. It does, however, have a gorgeous UI. PodTrapper ($6.99) is another alternative that has scheduled downloads of your new episodes over 3G or Wi-Fi, but for the price, it's difficult to recommend since it's lacking some of the advanced features other apps have. Finally, no list of Android podcast catchers would be complete without Google Listen (Free), which comes pre-installed on some devices, and even though it's feature-poor, largely abandoned by Google, and only supports audio podcasts, still gets the job done, and does it for free.

Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.

The iPhone's default iPod app—which aims to handle virtually every type of compatible audio content on your device—isn't bad, but definitely has its limitations. Apple hasn't done much to innovate in the way you sync your content, play your music, and manage your podcasts and audio books. Fortunately, third parties have filled in the gap. Here's what you need to move on from the iPod app for a better listening experience.

Music

Listening to your music with the iPod app is actually a pretty good experience, but managing and syncing your music library could be a bit better. This choice comes down to personal preference in a lot of ways, as you may want to stream and wirelessly sync your music more than you want to change how you play and manage your libraries. For that reason, we're going to suggest a couple of options so you can decide what makes the most sense for your needs.

For iTunes Sync'ers: Panamp

We've been fans of Panamp for awhile. It's fully capable of replacing your iPhone's music functions because it pulls directly from the library you're already syncing and attempts to offer a better experience. Panamp provides gesture support for easy playback control and excellent on-the-go playlist creation features, so it's extra flexible. It also has a tree-based display so you don't have to switch screens too often. Panamp is really more effective at managing and playing your music on the go than Apple's offering, so check it out if you're feeling unsatisfied. If you'd like more info, read our full review.

Panamp ($3) | iTunes App Store

For Wireless Streamers: Spotify, gMusic, Dropbox, and Your Computer

Streaming your music often depends on the service you favor, so we're going to offer some of our favorites plus a few ways to roll your own streaming music service with a home computer.

If you're an avid Spotify user and pay for the premium service, the mobile app is an obvious choice. You get instant streaming access to all of Spotify's tracks and an offline mode so you don't need an internet connection when you still want to listen. You can also wirelessly sync your personal music collection to access tracks Spotify doesn't have. It's really a great way to listen to practically anything, whether you own it or not.

Spotify (Free with Subscription) | iTunes App Store

While Google offers no official Google Music app, one ambitious developer went ahead and created gMusic to provide iPhone users with a native client. We'd like to suggest this developer's native Amazon Cloud Player app as well, but it was recently pulled from the iTunes App Store. Fortunately, gMusic has stuck around and received an update so it looks like it's here to stay. It operates very similarly to the iPod app except it's actually streaming music from your Google Music account. It even has offline support for while you're in airplane mode. For more info, read our full review.

gMusic ($2) | iTunes App Store

If you want to stream your entire iTunes library, or any folder filled with music for that matter, pick up a copy of StreamToMe. It's also capable of streaming video content as well, which it will convert to a compatible format if necessary. But on the audio side of things, you can stream virtually anything that's sitting on your home computer so long as it's running the free Mac- and Windows-compatible server software. You'll need to know a little bit about port forwarding to make everything accessible but that's not too hard to do. Once you're all set up, you'll have access to nearly every media file you own (so long as it's DRM-free).

StreamToMe ($3) | iTunes App Store

If you keep your music in your Dropbox account, you can play it easily with Songbox. It'll scan any folder you request and let you make playlists (called "Mixtapes") from your music. You can also browse by song or artist. This is very handy if you forget to sync with iTunes (or whatever other service you're using) and also happen to be syncing iTunes with Dropbox (or just have music in your Dropbox).

Songbox ($1) | iTunes App Store

Spoken Word

The iPod app's deficiencies, when it comes to spoken word content, are pretty specific. With podcasts, you have to sync or download them manually. With audiobooks, you have to purchase them from iTunes which comes with a markup. You also miss out on a lot of additional bonus features you get with third-party apps as well. Here's what you'll need to cover your bases.

For Podcasts: Downcast

Downcast was our pick for the best iPhone podcast manager, and when you use it you'll quickly understand why. If you're sick of manually updating podcasts on your iPhone and want an app that syncs all by itself, Downcast will provide. You just add the podcasts you want and it will download new episodes—even in the background—when it finds them. You can set rules for what gets downloaded on 3G and what doesn't, too. In addition to solving the biggest issue with the iPod app's handling of podcasts, Downcast offers plenty of neat additional features like navigational gesture support, a sleep timer, and retention settings. You can learn my by reading our full review.

Downcast ($2) | iTunes App Store

For Audiobooks: Audible (and Others)

When you're getting audiobooks you're probably buying them through Audible. If that's the case, you'll want Audible's free iPhone app. It'll let you download books from your library from your phone (so you don't have to sync) and sync your listening location across devices automatically. You can even navigate and add bookmarks with simple multitouch gestures.

Audible (Free) | iTunes App Store

In the event you don't get your audiobooks from Audible, you have a couple of other options. Bookmark ($3) is a great way to listen. You can add bookmarks with notes to any point in an audiobook (or podcast), and it'll work with the content already on your device. This means you'll still have to sync with iTunes, but at least you'll get additional features.

Audiobooks (Free) will provide you with free access to a few thousand free audiobooks. They also offer premium content at a price as well.