Want to share your photos with your friends and family in an extremely easy way? There’s a way to do it with Shared Photo Streams, to easily and automatically share photos with people. Start by using our guide to create a Shared Photo Stream. Once the Shared Photo Stream is created, tap on the blue arrow to enter the Edit Photo Stream screen. Now, it’s possible to add a subscriber that can view the Photo Stream on Mac in iPhoto, on Windows with the iCloud Control Panel, or on their iOS device. However, the easiest way to share photos is to create a public website from the Photo Stream. Turn the Public Website switch to on. Now, this creates a public website that will feature any photos that are in the Shared Photo Stream where users can see comments and download the photos for themselves. To share the link with someone else, tap the Share Link button. You can share the link through social networks, Mail, Messages, or by copying the link and pasting into the sharing method of your choice. Now, on the web view, the photos will be arranged by date, to see when a photo was uploaded. To add a new photo into a Photo Stream, go to the photo in Camera Roll, tap on it, and then tap on the Share arrow. Tap on the Photo Stream icon, and you can add it to either an available Photo Stream or to a new one that can be created. When you add a photo, you can add a comment that will be displayed along with the photo in the web gallery. You can add multiple photos by tapping Edit to multi-select the photos, and sharing them as normal. Note that any comments added will be for all the selected photos. To delete a photo from the Photo Stream, open up the Shared Photo Stream in Photos, and tap the Edit button. Select the photos to be deleted, and tap Delete. While this will prevent them from being viewable in the gallery any more, those with the link may have saved them separately. Remember: the things you share publicly never truly go away. These tips should make it easier to share photos straight from your iOS device in an easy-to-access web gallery. Thanks to this guide for inspiring these tips.

What happens at the Dutch Consulate, stays at the Dutch Consulate.

On This Episode:

Episode Cast:

Music:

• “Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)” by The Eternal – Download on iTunes here:
• “Nanocarp” by The Eternal
• Selected tracks from Super Stickman Golf 2 by Whitaker Trebella

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Apps From This Episode:

$0.99

Slayin

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2013-04-04 :: Category: Games

$1.99

The Other Brothers

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2013-04-04 :: Category: Games

$0.99

$1.99

Fingle

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-01-12 :: Category: Games

$0.99

$1.99

Le Vamp

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2013-03-14 :: Category: Games

Apple is introducing a new way to protect the security of your iTunes account. It’s called two-step verification, and while it does involve an extra step to log in, it will help make logging in to your Apple ID more secure and make it harder to break into through the use of a trusted device and a secret passkey.

See, security questions are not entirely safe since it’s possible for someone who wants illicit access to your account to get things like your mother’s maiden name or first job. So instead, this presumes that a more capable form of security for your account is a physical device that you would have to own in order to get access to your account – this can be a trusted iOS device or any SMS-capable phone, though not a Google Voice account, along with a security key or one’s password. It’s unlikely that someone wanting access to your account from an untrusted source will have two of the three.

Go to Apple’s ID page, and log in with the Apple ID you want to set up two-step verification on. Go to the Password and Security section, and if it’s available, choose to set it up. You will need to wait 3 days before you can complete the setup of your account. So bookmark this page and come back in 3 days!

Welcome back, unless you stuck around to see what the steps are, then thanks for sticking around!

Now, follow the various dialogs that appear. Apple will warn that once two-step is enabled, it can’t be disabled, and that it will require at least two of the three necessary components.

Then, Apple will require you to verify your trusted devices. Every device you choose to verify will have a verification code pushed to it, and you can independently verify your iPhone’s phone number in case you change devices or switch to another OS. Not that you’d do such a thing.

Then, Apple will give you your security key. This is one of the other necessary components to get back in to your account. You will need to securely store a copy of this key, by either writing it down, or printing out a copy somewhere. Apple will then make you enter the security key they just gave you.

Apple will then give you one final warning before enabling two-step verification on your account.

Congratulations! You’ve enabled two-step verification on your account. This will make it harder for unauthorized access into your account. You can disable two-factor from the Apple ID settings if you find it too much of a hassle, however.

One of the last games I saw in San Francisco, and technically not even at GDC, still might have been one of the most promising. Dutch developer Game Oven Studios demoed a pre-release version of its upcoming iPad multiplayer game, Bam Fu, at the Indigo event at the Dutch Consulate in San Francisco.

Also serious is the competition: players are trying to tap objects on screen in order to make them their color. This is simple enough when it’s just one-on-one, but when up to four people get in on the action, things get frantic and crazy. Tapping a color turns it to another color no matter who taps it, so it’s often the fault of the player whose color comes ahead in the sequence of the victor for everyone else’s defeat. However, accidentally tapping other players’ colors will happen.

The game can get very physical; while the studio’s previous title Fingle was more intimate and cooperative, this is more competitive, and shoving opponents out of the way is encouraged and inevitable. Part of the fun comes from what happens outside of the iPad! This one is still in the works but shows definite promise in this pre-release form. Pretty much the only thing better than this game at the Dutch Consulate? The view outside the 31st floor window:

Football Heroes, Kickstarted a year ago, is coming to fruition. Michael Marzola, one of the game’s developers, showed off an early build of the game with non-final art, but this title already shows promise. It’s inspired by classic arcade football games such as Tecmo Bowl, with a dash of the brutality of NFL Blitz, and World of Warcraft. Wait, what? That’s because the players on a team can be endlessly customized, with skill trees to help make them play better and avoid more tackles. The game has a long way to go still, but expect to play this one during NFL season.

Bravado Waffle has a new game in the works, inspired by old-school tank battlers like Battlezone. zTanks pits players in an arena with both bots and other players via online multiplayer with the objective to be the last tank standing. Players can fire from their tanks, but have a heat meter that fills up over time. They can jump to dodge shots, though. The game is being built in Unity and could at some point boast cross-platform online multiplayer, though the iOS version does not support that yet.

Another game the studio has in early work is called Blobsters, which is designed to be a 2D physics platformer take on a turn-based racing title like Disc Drivin’. This one is still in early alpha form, and plenty of changes are still in store, but the idea alone shows promise. Both this and zTanks should be releasing later this year for iOS.

I love grappling hooks in games. There’s nothing more pleasant than swinging around to get from place to place, because running is for chumps. Who wouldn’t want to swing around to get places? If Tarzan ran around everywhere, would he be as cool? No, he would not be. As such, I have collected 4 of the best games on iOS that feature this mechanic prominently in different ways.

Super QuickHook: Rocketcat Games has made three absolutely brilliant grappling hook games in its time on iOS, and they’re all brilliant, but this one gets the nod for featuring a great selection of endless swinging modes, where learning the optimal paths and coin locations is handy. This is along with its fixed levels, where trying to get fast times and collecting all the secret items becomes a challenge. But Hook Champ and Hook Worlds are both well worth a download.

$2.99

Super QuickHook

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-06-17 :: Category: Games

Super Knights: Initially released under the far cooler Knights of the Round Cable title, this game features 360 degree swinging in an open arena. Collecting all the gems in their increasingly-complex patterns becomes the goal, and it becomes a challenge to try and do this while navigating all the hazards. The game also features plenty of upgrades and things to unlock while playing the game, enabling long-time players to get higher and higher scores. I have lost countless hours to this one.

FREE!

Super Knights

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-07-12 :: Category: Games

Gravity Hook: Here’s one that’s less about swinging horizontally with some vertical action, and more about grappling upward. The goal is to latch on to floating orbs, using them to launch upward without falling off the screen. Some of the orbs function as mines that activate when latched on to, or even if just contacted, and some orbs fall when latched on to! The game has a definite learning curve, one that takes a while to get down, but when it’s mastered, it’s absurdly satisfying.

$0.99

Gravity Hook HD

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-07-29 :: Category: Games

Rope ‘n Fly 3: From Dusk Till Dawn: Who doesn’t want ot swing around a city like Spider-Man, latching from rooftop to rooftop, flying through the air without a care? Well, perhaps there’s a care whenever one’s face hits the ground, but it’s a pretty sweet ride up until that point. That’s this game in a nutshell, a long-time iOS franchise that has multiple ways to grapple throughout the city. It’s not a looker but it’s a ton of fun.

$0.99

Rope'n'Fly 3 - From Dusk Till Dawn

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-16 :: Category: Games

The developer who helped bring Sonic CD to mobile platforms in a flawless port is back with a new port, this time of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Christian Whitehead has brought his remastering touch to the Sonic game that started it all, dramatically improving and modernizing the emulated Genesis version currently on the App Store. Thanks to the rebuilt game’s new native engine, the graphics now support the Retina Display, widescreen, and the iPad. The virtual controls are improved as well, and some minor tweaks and improvements to pathing that will make the game play better than ever.

For extras, there’s the ability to see the US, EU, or JP version of the Sonic 1 cart in the menu, and to play a new Time Attack mode. This revamp releases in April, and will be a free update for those who already own Sonic 1 on the App Store, and will be available on Android as well with gamepad support.

Ahh, Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is here again. The day of the year where hope springs eternal, where ace takes on ace, and the long haul of 162 games starts with one exciting burst. Well, unless you’re a Marlins fan, it’s just all hopeless until Jeffrey Loria mercifully sells the team. Oh, and even if the Astros won on Opening Night, they’re still gonna be a pit of despair this season. And lest we forget, the Cubs are still cursed. Regardless, there’s plenty of reason to be excited on this holiest of days. And there’s plenty of apps to enjoy the baseball season with. Here’s our favorite four apps for Opening Day 2013.

MLB At Bat: MLB’s official app is still the best way to enjoy the MLB season. There’s the Gameday experience with live pitch tracking. The app has a new interface on team pages for easily seeing team highlights, news, schedule, and even getting tickets. Oh and of course, At Bat subscribers get full access to the app and to live game audio, and MLB.tv subscribers get to watch most live games, with the blackout exceptions being in-market games, and national TV blackouts for Fox’s Saturday games and ESPN’s Sunday game.

FREE!

MLB.com At Bat

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-29 :: Category: Sports

At The Ballpark: Why just check on the status of games when you can actually go to them? This app from MLB is designed to make going to games easier. You can see which ballparks are near you, and when the next game there is. You can buy tickets, and check in to the ballpark. See the team’s schedule for upcoming games, including upcoming promotions. There’s ballpark directories, transportation guidelines, and even a guide to the music of various players and from the stadium.

FREE!

MLB.com At the Ballpark

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-02 :: Category: Sports

Flick Home Run: If the home team’s down by 10 but you don’t want to leave because it’s the 4th inning yet are so bored that you start to think maybe this sport is slow and boring after all, perhaps a good baseball video game is worth playing. Nothing gets the baseball fan going like this game’s flicking of virtual home runs out of the park, off of some cars, rooftops, and further than any baseball has any right to go. Beware if playing this at the park, as an actual ball hitting your face will hurt badly.

$0.99

Flick Home Run !

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-10-14 :: Category: Games

Topps Bunt: There’s a lot of MLB card games out there, which is a natural fit because of the proud tradition of baseball cards. So why not play the baseball card game from a well-known baseball card company? Their official card game has been updated for 2013 with the ability to now buy card packs for additional players, along with trading with players all over the world to build the best team possible. Results are based on real-life player performance, so it’s more of a fantasy baseball game than a game built around cards representing players. The game does try to balance out the different player types, from closers to catchers.

FREE!

BUNT: The Exclusive MLB Digital Baseball Trading Card Game

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-04 :: Category: Sports

Madfinger Games has more and more zombies to kill, as they’ve demoed Dead Trigger 2 at GDC 2013. The gameplay is largely similar to the original, where players take on new types of zombies in a variety of new environments, like a sandy city, dank sewer, and a ruined city. The city really shows off the improvements to the graphics that Madfinger appears to be going for as a giant zombie that can be attacked with one of the new fixed turrets can be fought.

With the rumors of an official Apple controller, it’s a good guess that Dead Trigger 2 to support it, as multiple Android controllers are supported by both this and the original Dead Trigger, with the sequel playable on Nvidia’s Project Shield Android device with a gamepad, despite their desire to keep much of the game secret when we met with them. Dead Trigger 2 should be available later this year, and will launch as a free-to-play title.

First-person shooters truly built and optimized for mobile are few and far between. Ben Cousins of Shattered  Entertainment wants to change that with his team’s new DeNA-published game, The Drowning.

The Drowning is built from the ground up for mobile devices. This is thanks in part to the game’s two minute play session structure; players will always have two minutes to take down as many enemies as possible, with the goal being to score as many points as possible. Thus, getting into Frenzy mode becomes important: getting headshots and melee kills is the way to enter this double-points mode, and keeping up the pace is the way to stay in it. Getting lots of points ensures that more scanvgeable items can be found randomly, these items being used as parts for new weapons and vehicles for traveling through the world. The game does have a main story thread running through it, that players can follow as they progress through.

The controls have been the much-ballyhooed part of the game, and in my playtime, I found that they were easy to pick up on. Swiping looks around, but tapping with two fingers fires, with the actual shot going between the two fingers. Thus, the game allows for enough accuracy to let players fire where they want, but still have challenge for headshots and the like. Tapping on the screen moves to that location, and players can execute a rapid 180 turn by tapping on the bottom of the screen, and can quickly turn to attacking enemies by tapping on the red damage indicators on the side. Finally, those things are really useful!

The game will be free-to-play, and the monetization strategies inclue an energy mechanic for traveling to different levels, the ability to get additional scavenge opportunities, and special weapons that can be bought, though these will be broken when acquired, like most of the game’s weapons; the parts to fix them still need to be found. Ben Cousins pointed out that the game will always be about the gameplay – it’s possible to get new weapons and additional scavenge items, but getting to use them is always about playing the game itself.

How well the title will work long-term and how intrusive the monetization will feel will still require some extended playtime, but for now, The Drowning shows a lot of promise toward changing the mobile FPS. The game is nearly done and will be submitted soon.

Celsius Game Studios, headed by Colin Walsh, is hard at work on the space trading simulator Drifter. Last seen at GDC 2012, the game has since seen a Kickstarter for a PC and Mac version that also sees plenty of benefits for the iOS version. There’s more detailed graphics, and a soundtrack by Danny Baranowsky. There’s over 20,000 planets to explore across the game’s vast, vast universe, which can take up to an hour to travel across a star system in real time, though it’s possible to slipstream at five times the speed to a system.

Right now, the game is in beta testing for Kickstarter backers, and the sandbox mode is the focus, though a story mode is definitely in the works. If all goes as planned, a mid-to-late-summer launch is planned. Those looking to play the game on PC or Mac will be glad to know that technically, save games are compatible with each other between the different versions, though Celsius Game Studios – no longer just Colin Walsh – is looking into a cloud save solution.

The 5-man League of Geeks studio loves tabletop games, and they want to make Armello a fun game in that style that is still great for iOS. Players control one of four animal races, trying to capture the Armello castle in the center of the board, battling by digitally rolling dice and playing cards. The game was prototyped for 8 months on pen and paper, trying to make the game work as an actual physical game, before they started work on the digital game, and trying to create a lush and detailed world for the game to exist in. Single-device multiplayer will be there, and there are plans for a hybrid live/turn-based multiplayer akin to Ascension. This one is still a ways off, possibly available late this year, but League of Geeks says it will be ready when it’s ready.

IceFlame Games made Soccer Rally last year to celebrate Euro 2012, and the studio has decided to make a sequel that takes the concept to the next level. Soccer Rally 2 is still ultimately about driving a car around the soccer pitch and scoring goals, but there’s now a realistic physics system that makes the new multiple car types all handle differently. A new Soccer Academy mode will train players on how to play the game through a series of challenges, with an expanded Career mode as well. Car paint jobs will include schemes based on games like Ridiculous Fishing, World of Goo, and Punch Quest. The single-device multiplayer is back, along with the promise of Game Center online multiplayer. IceFlame hopes to release this one in early summer.

Damp Gnat games, creator of Wonderputt, is bringing a new version of its stylish Flash game Icycle to iOS with the help of publisher Chillingo. Icycle: On Thin Ice has players controlling a lovelorn dreamer riding a bicycle through icy set pieces that grow increasingly difficult over time. Players can collect ice crystals in the game for fancy hats and to even unlock the levels from the original Icycle in this new version, featuring vector graphics that scale perfectly to the many zoom levels in the game. Expect this one soon.

EA showed off several of their new titles at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco today at GDC 2013, one of which being their Blitz take on Tetris. Appropriately named Tetris Blitz, this has two-minute sessions of the classic tetromino-dropping gameplay. The smart brick placement controls from the controversial revamp of Tetris have been refined, with easy manual placement options as well. Powerups can be bought, with special weekly powerups also available. The game is planned for this spring for iOS as a free-to-play title.

Bulkypix has plenty of new games coming up, one of which being a casual title called Candymeleon. Players tilt to move a chameleon, and tap on the screen to launch its tongue upward in order to eat the candy above, but there’s certain candy that’s bad. Currency can be earned in-game to unlock powerups and new chameleons. Expect this in the next month or so.

For the impatient, Runaway: A Twist of Fate releases on Thursday. This is the first episode of an extended point-and-click adventure series, similar in controls to The Walking Dead, with more episodes arriving in the coming months.

Rocketcat Games’ Wayward, informally known throughout development as Mage Dungeon, is finally nearing completion. This will be an endless free-to-play hack ‘n slash game, where players control various customer classes through procedurally-generated dungeons. The combat will be familiar to fans of Mage Gauntlet, but it features new attack and defensive abilities, with new charge attacks for the various character classes. The game will hopefully be finished in a couple of months, but until then, this footage will have to do.

Crescent Moon Games is a prolific developer and publisher, and 2013 promises to have even more titles to play from them. We got to see quite a few of them at GDC 2013.

There’s a big new futuristic sci-fi RPG early in development called Exiles: Far Colony.  Blowfish Studios is working on Siegecraft TD, a tower defense game set in the Siegecraft universe with a deep online miltiplayer mode. Forest Moon has a chaotic single-device multiplayer game called Monkey Boxing that is exactly what it says on the tin. Even a very early version of Paper Monsters 2 was shown. Check out videos of the two below, and expect plenty of new titles from the studio this year.

Matt Fix (Trainyard) and Owen Goss (Finger Tied) have come together to form Milkbag Games. Their first title, Snow Siege, combines tower defense, Tetris-esque block-laying, and collectible card game mechanics in one package.

Everplay Interactive is hard at work on several new titles in the coming months. Their biggest title is Ace of Blades, a spinoff of Spellsword. As well, they have multiple new titles in their “Retro Revival” series including trial platformer Lumber Jacked, and endless action game Bill Killem. Check out Ace of Blades below.