bperrybap:
$10 for the pololu programmer is a bargain.
Got that right!
Coding..., out of curiosity why would you resort to using an Uno when you have a pololu programmer?
Teensy I understand as it should be faster because of the native USB support, but why use Uno?
Upload performance from fastest to slowest...
• Uno with a 250K baud bootloader
• Pololu (very close to the same speed as above)
• Teensy running TinyISP
• Uno running TinyISP
• Teensy running ArduinoISP
• Uno running ArduinoISP (very slow)
The first two are very close to the programming time listed in the Atmel datasheet and are essentially the fastest possible method using SPI. (Again, I highly recommend the Pololu AVR Programmer. It was worth the $20 I paid for it (now just $10).)
TinyISP on either hardware is not as fast by a noticeable amount but is still fast enough to fall within the "two second" rule1.
ArduinoISP is just abysmal.
I use the Uno or Teensy because of the amenities that I've added to the Arduino ISP sketch (TinyISP is available here). It makes a "good enough" programmer with some very basic debugging tools.
I like the Teensy because, inserted in a breadboard, it makes a very nice "project board". Breadboard + programmer + basic debugging for ~$30. What's not to like?
I like the Uno because it's easier to move from one project to another. Getting the Teensy out of a breadboard is a little annoying.
1 Humans perceive a computer response within two seconds to be reasonable. At five seconds, humans tend to get impatient and annoyed. At ten seconds, they tend to get angry. Past that, the monitor gets a fist, a boot, or a bullet.