Pusat Media Informasi

How to hide unwanted games in your Steam library

A long-awaited addition to the Steam client helps you organize your games list by removing unwanted entries.

Tired of all the clutter in your Steam library of games? A recent update to the Steam client adds the long-awaited option of hiding the titles you no longer want.

For example, as a longtime user of the service, I've accumulated quite a lot of games -- some of which I don't intend to play again. Heck, I even have a couple I accidentally purchased for the wrong platform; I certainly don't want those in my list.

Here's how to remove unwanted titles from your Steam library (with the option to restore them later, of course).

Step 1: Make sure you have the latest version of Steam. If you haven't run the client in a while, it should auto-update. The latest version, as of this writing, is dated August 13.

Step 2: Click Library, scroll through your list of games, then find one you want to hide. Right-click it and choose Set Categories.

Step 3: Now tick the box next to "Hide this game in my library." Then click OK. Presto! The game disappears from your list.

Never to return? Nope, you can restore a hidden game -- it's just not obvious how to do so. While still in Library view, find the search bar (near the upper-left corner), then click the Games link at the right edge of it. In the drop-down menu that appears, click Hidden. Now repeat steps two and three, above, except this time you'll be unchecking the "Hide" option.

Transfer old Minecraft data to your PS4 or Xbox One

The popular sandbox game allows you to transfer worlds you created on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 to the PlayStation and Xbox One. Here's what you need to know.

The popular game Minecraft is now available on both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. While the graphics haven't changed, the updated game features worlds that are 36 times larger than those on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Minecraft is available for $19.99 for new customers. Those users who previously purchased the game on the PS3 or Xbox 360 can upgrade to the new version for $4.99.

Existing players also have the ability to import their PS3 and Xbox 360 saved worlds to the PS4 andXbox One editions, which means all that time you spent recreating King's Landing won't go to waste.

Transfer data from the Xbox 360 to Xbox One

It's relatively simple to transfer the worlds you have created on the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One. To start, launch Minecraft on your Xbox 360 and click on "Play Game" from the list of options. Select the saved game you would like to transfer and press the Y button on the controller.

Now launch Minecraft on your Xbox One and select "Play Game" from the list of options. Click the X button on the controller and the game will begin downloading your old map automatically. Then just select the world you would like to enter by pressing the A button and start playing right where you left off.

Transfer data from the PS3 to PS4 or PS Vita

To transfer worlds created on the PS3 to the PS4 or PS Vita, launch Minecraft on the PS3 and click on "Play Game" from the list of options. Select the saved world you would like to transfer, press the R1 button on the controller, select Upload Save for PS Vita/PS4 and press the X button.

Wait for the game to fully upload and then launch Minecraft on your PS4 or PS Vita. Select "Play Game" from the list of options and press the the square button on the controller. Once the game has finished downloading, simply select it from the list of worlds and begin playing.

The complete guide to streaming games on Twitch

Here you will learn how to become a game-streaming master.

Game streaming has grown to become a huge part of the Internet. It's so big that Amazon and Google were both looking to spend big bucks to acquire top game streaming website Twitch. The deal eventually went to Amazon, which spent $970 million dollars for the service. That amount may seem odd for people who aren't familiar with the service, but Twitch's traffic is huge. In fact, Twitch gaming streams generate more traffic than HBO Go.

Interested in broadcasting your gameplay to the world? This guide will tell you everything you need to know about setting up a Twitch game stream.

Creating an account

The first thing you will want to do is sign up for a free account over at Twitch.tv. You aren't required to have an account to watch or comment on streams, although you do get more features by signing up for one. In addition to creating your own videos, signing up for an account will allow you to message and interact with other users, follow streams, and more.

Once you have created your account, I recommend going to the Twitch settings, clicking on the Channel and Videos tab, and checking the "Automatically archive my broadcasts" box. This won't save old streams forever, however they will be stored on your channel for the next 14 days. You will also have the ability to export older broadcasts to YouTube and create video highlights that will be saved on your Twitch channel forever.

Now the fun begins. It's time to start choose your streaming platform.

Choosing your platform

You can stream games directly from your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One game consoles, or on your PC using additional software.

Streaming on a PlayStation 4

It's relatively easy to stream on the PlayStation 4. All you need is the console, a DualShock 4 controller, a game to play, a stable Internet connection, and a PlayStation 4 camera, which will allow others to see and hear you.

You first need to login to your account. To start, press the Share button on the controller while playing a game. Select Broadcast Gameplay, followed by Twitch, click on "Go to the Twitch website," and login to your account. To actually begin broadcasting, once again press the Share button, select Broadcast Gameplay, followed by Twitch, and click Start Broadcast.

It's as easy as that. You can view Twitch comments and tweak your steaming settings by pressing the Share button while streaming and selecting Broadcast Settings.

Streaming on an Xbox One

It's a little more complicated to start streaming on the Xbox One. You will need a console, an Xbox One controller, an Xbox One Kinect camera, a stable Internet connection, and a game to play.

Sign in to your Microsoft account and download the free Twitch app from the Xbox Live store. Once it has been installed, open the app and click on Broadcast. A 6-digit code will appear on the screen which you will have to enter at the Twitch website to activate the device.

The Xbox privacy settings must be set to Adult before you can begin broadcasting your own gameplay. This can be done by going to the Xbox settings, clicking on the "Privacy & online safety" option, and selecting "Adult default." In the Preferences section of the settings menu, make sure the "Allow broadcasts and Game DVR uploads" option is enabled.

To broadcast, open the game you would like to play and say "Xbox Broadcast." You can also start the broadcast inside of the Twitch app. To stop your broadcast, use the voice command "Xbox Stop Broadcast."

Streaming from your PC

Streaming from a PC isn't nearly as easy as it is on the PS4 or Xbox One, but it's nothing you can't handle. You should know, however, that not every computer is capable of streaming, While the requirements change depending on the games you plan to stream, I recommend having at least 4GB of RAM, a high-end graphics card (GeForce or Radeon with support for DirectX 10.1) , and a powerful processor, such as a second generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7.

These specs will make it easy to stream popular games like Dota 2, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Titanfall, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. As is the case with streaming on the PS4 and Xbox One, you will also want a camera and a stable Internet connection, in addition to a headset with a microphone.

There are a variety of programs available for broadcasting your gameplay, but I found the easiest way to stream is using a software called XSplit Gamecaster. Create an account on the XSplit website and download the Gamecaster software. Once it has been installed, launch the program, login into your XSplit account, and grant Gamecaster access to live stream to Twitch. This can be done by clicking on the "Open Authentication Window" box and signing into your Twitch account.

Then just simply launch a game you want to broadcast, click the CTRL and Tab key after it has launched, and select the "Stream" option. From this menu you can also enable your webcam, change video and audio settings, and more.

While the Gamecaster software is free and easy to use, it does have its flaws. The company charges a monthly fee for a premium license, which opens the door to more features. Without the license, your HD streams will include a watermark of the company's logo and your frame-per-second will be limited.

If this is a problem for you, I recommend checking out Open Broadcast Software. The program, which is also known as OBS, is open source and available for free. It can be a bit more complicated to use, butthis guide from Twitch will help you get started.

Finding a game and building an audience

The hardest part about streaming isn't setting up the software, it's building an audience. No one wants to have a stream with no viewers. That's why I spoke to current game streamers about what new users could do to build an audience.

Choose a popular game

Most people aren't going to watch a streamer who plays an unpopular game. The people I spoke to recommended choosing new games or older ones with large followings. Dota 2 and League of Legends are both incredibly popular, as are first person shooters like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Titanfall, and Call of Duty. Other games to check out include Diablo 3, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Starcraft II, Day Z, FIFA, and Madden.

Be good at the game you choose

No one wants to watch someone die over and over again. You should be relatively good at the game you plan to stream.

Keep to a schedule

Try to be consistent and keep to a schedule to make it easier for viewers to follow you.

Be entertaining

You have to do more than just play the game. You have to entertain your audience. Make jokes, comment on pop culture, talk about current events, do something to keep them coming back for more.

Promote yourself on social media

Use platform like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to inform your audience about new streams, gaming new, and upcoming promotions.

Keep them coming back for more

Whether it's skins for CS:GO, Riot Points on League of Legends, or an in-game item on World of Warcraft, people love free stuff. Giveaways are a great way to build an audience, but be sure to make it a requirement that those entering into your giveaway are also following your stream.

Add special effects to your smartphone movies

Free app FxGuru, now available for both Android and iOS, comes with a dozen dazzling effects. Here's how to kickstart your moviemaking career.

In my youth, I wanted nothing more than to make movies. But the tools just weren't available -- not on my budget, anyway. And even if I'd had a movie camera, special effects were out of the question. UFO invasions, dinosaur attacks, bomb explosions -- these were the purview of Industrial Light & Magic, not little Ricky Broida.

Oh, to be a kid again. Armed with nothing more than a smartphone and the right apps, you can shoot in razor-sharp HD and add all kinds of startlingly good special effects.

You handle the storyboarding and final edits; I'll show you how to get started with the effects. Start withPicadelic's FxGuru, a free app that comes with a dozen pretty sweet effects and offers more on the cheap. It originated as an Android app, but recently made its way to iOS.

At its most basic, FxGuru works like this: You choose the effect you want, then record some video that's at least as long as the effect (most of them run at least 10 seconds). Next, you apply filters (which are optional), then wait while the app renders your clip. When you're done, you can view it immediately, then save it, share it, etc.

Here's a more detailed walkthrough. I used the iOS version, but the steps are virtually identical in Android.

Step one: Install FxGuru, natch.

Step two: Tap Start, then choose an effect. (Satellite Crash is a good one to start with, though Breaking News is great if you're looking to set up an event -- like, say, a satellite crash.) The effects that have a silver frame are included free; those framed in gold will cost you -- usually 99 cents apiece, though many are available as part of 6-packs that cost $4.99. Thankfully, you can tap the play button to get a full preview of any selected effect, free or not. (By the way, it's worth buying at least one effect, as that allows you to enable both high-definition recording and higher-quality file size.)

FxGuru makes it easy to set up your shot, but don't feel like you have to keep the camera perfectly still.Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Step three: Frame your shot. Each effect provides an overlay so you can see where the action (in this case a satellite hitting the ground) will occur and plan accordingly. For example, if you're planning to have the satellite land alongside a truck, you can frame the scene accordingly. Also take note of the length of the effect, because you'll need to record a clip that's at least that many seconds.

Step four: Press the Record button. Keep recording until the overlay switches from red to green, which means you've shot at least enough video for the full length of the effect. However, you can shoot longer if you want some B-roll or other introductory video before the effect kicks, or you want some aftermath footage.

Now for the really cool part: You don't need to keep your phone tripod-steady while recording. In fact, it will add some terrific vérité to the clip if the camera moves a bit. FxGuru's MotionMatch technology keeps the special effect locked more or less in place, even if you pan side to side or up and down. You shouldn't move much, but it's quite amazing how the app keeps the satellite crash in a fixed point within the shot. You expect it to "float" as the camera moves.

Step five: When you've shot enough video to satisfy the needs of the scene, tap the Record button to stop. Now you'll see a slider labeled Choose Timing. Drag the little handle to the spot within the video where you want the effect sequence to kick in. This is where you learn the importance of shooting for longer than the effect lasts, as it gives you some "buffer" time up front if you want it. When you've decided where you want the effect to start, tap OK.

Step six: FxGuru gives you the following options menu:

FxGuru offers some pretty slick filters for your video.Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

By default, MotionMatch accuracy is set to High, and I can't see any reason to change it. Next, FxGuru offers a couple dozen Instagram-style image filters, all of which are pretty cool -- though obviously if the rest of your movie doesn't look the same way, you might want to reconsider using them.

Finally, you can choose from three self-explanatory sound-effects options. With all your selections made, tap OK.

Step seven: It may take a minute or two for the app to render your video. (Amusingly, it shows previews of other effects while you wait.) When it's done, you can immediately view the clip, delete it, share/save it, or tap Edit to rework the options you chose in step five.

Remotely control a Mac with Mac.remote for Android

Control music, videos, or a slide show on your Mac using an Android device.

Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET

Many of us rely on our computers as entertainment hubs for watching videos and listening to music. Having a remote control to manage simple functions like play/pause, fast-forward, and volume makes a lot of sense. Every now and then, you'll see a physical remote control included with a computer system, but they're pretty rare.

In the absence of an actual remote control, you can use an Android device with the Mac.remote app to control many multimedia applications on your Mac. You can even put your Mac to sleep, shut it down, and control the screen's brightness.

To connect your Android device to your Mac with Mac.remote, go to System Preferences > Sharing and make sure that the Remote Login service is turned on.

Next, launch the Mac.remote app, then enter your OS X username, password, and the IP address of your Mac in the Mac.remote app. The username is your short name in OS X, not your full name. If you're not sure what it is, launch the Terminal app and you should see your short name listed at the top of the window (and as part of the command prompt).

OS X Terminal with username — Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET

Once you're logged in, you'll see the list of apps available to control on the left. By default, it's set up foriTunes, Spotify, Rdio, QuickTime Player, MPlayerX, VLC, Keynote, and iPhoto. After you've selected an app to control, you can play/pause, go back, go next, control the volume, and select "i" to see the title that's playing.

Mac.remote apps and player — Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET

You can also control some system functions by swiping the screen to the left. You'll see the controls for power, sleep, and screen brightness on the right side of the screen. To disconnect from your Mac or manage apps, tap on the Menu in the lower right-hand corner.

Mac.remote system controls and menu — Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET

Mac.remote runs without ads for 5 days. After the initial 5 days, you can either use it with the ads or purchase the ad-free version. Alternatively, you can also try an app called Mac Remote that's very similar to Mac.remote.

Listen to YouTube tunes on your iPhone with Tuner

Tuner for YouTube Music lets you play the audio from YouTube videos and create and edit playlists. Get the app now while it's free.

YouTube has proven over the years to be more than a video repository, offering a wealth of live and recorded music. If you use YouTube to listen to music, then you might want to give the Tuner for YouTube Music app a whirl. It's currently free as a launch offer, according to the developer, and lets you stream the audio of YouTube videos and create playlists on your iPhone.

The Tuner app was released only last week and offers a very basic feature set. It does not require you to sign into a YouTube account to get started. In fact, you can't sign into your YouTube account if you wanted to access your existing playlists or subscriptions. To find music to play, tap the three-lined button in the lower-right corner. It will allow you to browse through suggested artists, any playlists you have created using the app, or search.

Playback controls are limited. The app doesn't provide a slider to scrub through a song, and if you search for a song and begin playing it, you can't skip forward or back to another song from that artist. You can, however, skip around when listening to a suggested artist or a playlist. To create a playlist or add a song to an existing playlist, tap the "+" button in the lower-right corner while listening to a song. You can also add songs from the search results page to a playlist without interrupting the current song playing; when you tap on a track from search results, you get two options: Play and Add to Playlist.

From the Playlists tab, you can tap the Edit button to delete entire playlists. And if you tap on a playlist while in edit mode, you can then delete and rearrange individual tracks.

The app supports AirPlay, and it plays in the background, displaying playback controls and artist artwork on the lock screen. It also lets you share the current track on Facebook or Twitter. You can enable repeat or shuffle playback options, but there is no way to set the streaming quality. Lastly, the app manages to avoid playing ads, which trumps any features missing at present.

Two new features make Paper a better sketch app for the iPad

A refresh for iOS 7 introduces a better loupe and smarter pointillism controls.

I got started with Paper for the iPad about a year and a half ago, and this week the popular drawing and sketching app received an update for iOS 7 that includes two new features that provide finer, more creative controls.

First, the size of your brush or pen strokes are smaller when made inside the loupe. Pinch out to call up the loupe, which magnifies a portion of the page. Prior to this week's update, your pen strokes would be huge inside the loupe, which defeated much of its purpose. Now, the bigger you make the loupe, the finer your strokes become, giving you much greater control over your drawings.

Second, you can embrace your inner Georges Seurat and make beautiful pointillism creations. Now, when you tap with the fountain pen or eraser tools, the longer you hold down your finger, the larger the resulting dot.

Facebook for iOS makes it easier to share selectively

The latest version of Facebook's iPhone and iPad apps lets you share with only select friends.

I'm not an organized person. Planning is not my forte. Thus, Facebook expecting me to create a group to which I may later want to share a post or a photo is asking too much. With the latest Facebook for iOS update (version 8.0), I don't have to engage in such advanced preparations.

Now, when I go to share a status update, a photo, or a photo album on Facebook, I can select its audience on the fly. To do so from the Update Status screen, tap in the To field to bring up the Share With screen. Below the options at the top, you'll see a new section -- Only These Friends -- that lets you simply tap which friends with whom you'd like to share your update.

Getting started with Office for iPad

These long-awaited apps have finally arrived. Here's everything you need to know about setup and startup.

Microsoft Office for iPad has arrived, and when paired with a keyboard, it might just change the way you use your tablet.

Not quite sure how to get started? No worries -- let's take a look at everything you'll need to turn youriPad into a full-fledged Office companion.

First up: an iPad. The Office apps are compatible with any iPad that can run iOS 7, which, alas, leaves out first-generation models.

Second, if you want to create and edit documents on your iPad, you'll need a subscription to Microsoft Office 365. Without one, you'll be able to view Office documents, though you can do that already with any number of third-party apps.

Office 365 Home Premium (soon to become just "Office 365 Home") costs $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually, a price that includes five PC and five tablet licenses. The forthcoming Office 365 Personal ($6.99 monthly, $69.99 annually) will give you one PC and one tablet license.

The apps themselves -- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint -- are free (as is OneNote, which debuted for iPad in late 2011). They're installed individually, meaning you don't have to use the entire suite if you don't need to. Let's walk through using Microsoft Word for iPad (the process is virtually identical for Excel and PowerPoint).

App 101

First, download and install Word for iPad from the App Store.

Start the app, then swipe through the introductory screens until you reach the last one. Here you can skip the sign-in process (which you'll have to do if you don't have an Office 365 sub) or type in your subscription email address and password. For our purposes here, I'll assume you've done that.

Open existing documents

Signing into your account automatically links Word to your Microsoft OneDrive, so if you tap Open and then the name of that drive, you'll see all the folders you have there: Documents, Public, and so on.

For a list of documents stored on your iPad (there probably won't be any at first), tap iPad. You can also tap Add a Place, but unfortunately Word doesn't support any third-party services like Dropbox or Evernote -- your only available cloud services are OneDrive and SharePoint.

Nevertheless, opening a document couldn't be much easier: Tap one of the folders for a list of the items stored there, then tap any Word file to open it.

Create new documents

To create a new document, tap the New icon, then choose from the various options: blank document, brochure, invoice, proposal, etc.

After you've worked on it a bit, you might go looking for a Save option. There isn't one; rather, you tap the Back arrow at the top-left corner of the interface, and that brings up a Save As field where you can provide a name.

You can also choose where this document should be saved: OneDrive or on your iPad proper. If you choose the latter, you can always migrate it to the cloud later on: While viewing the Recent or Open menu, tap the up-arrow icon next to any document, and then tap Move to Cloud.

If you don't want to back out of editing just to perform that initial save, tap the File button (which is one icon to the right of that Back arrow). Here you'll see that AutoSave is turned on by default (handy!), plus a Name field you can tap in lieu of "Save As."

Two ways to save (and name) your document.Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

There's also a Duplicate option here (grayed out until you save the document at least once), helpful if you want to create templates or the like.

Share your document

There are a couple ways to share files. First, while viewing any file list (in the Recent or Open menu), you can tap that aforementioned up-arrow icon to reveal a Share option. From here you can email the document as an attachment.

If that document is stored on your iPad, that'll be your only sharing option. But if it's stored on OneDrive, you'll also see "Email as Link" and "Copy Link."

These same options are accessible within any open document by tapping the little Share icon in the top-right corner of the interface.

PhotosPro provides better iPhone photo browsing

This universal iOS app provides a simple and effective layout for browsing your photo library, in addition to giving you an easy way to view metadata and share groups of photos.

The Photos app for the iPhone was overhauled for iOS 7 last year, and I'm still getting used to the Years and Collections and Moments organizational structure. I'm not wild about it and, thus, have turned to third-party apps for browsing the many photos on my iPhone. I have used Photowerks, and I am now trying out PhotosPro, a $1.99 universal app.

PhotosPro — Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

The app provides a layout with thumbnails that are large enough to see some of the finer details in a shot -- they are larger than the tiny thumbnails in the Moments view of the default Photos app -- but not so large that they make browsing through your photos an exercise in rapid and repetitive finger swipes. Your photos are displayed in chronological order in two columns and grouped by day. A photo's shape and aspect ratio are also shown in this view, which presents an appreciated departure from the square grid of thumbnails you get from the Photos app.

When viewing a photo in full-screen, the location along with the resolution and size and how long ago it was take is displayed at the bottom. Tap on this banner and more metadata and a map are presented, along with a link to view the full EXIF information of the photo.

At the top of the screen are three buttons. The first lets you choose which photo library or album you'd like to view. The middle button displays a calendar overlay, which shows you a tiny thumbnail of the last photo taken on a given day. Tap on a thumbnail on this calendar to jump to that day. The last button provides a map view of your photos. It's similar to the map view you can access from the Years or Collections views in the default Photos app, but you get to see multiple years of photos on the map instead of one year at a time as you do with the Photos app.

If you sign up for a free Pixotale account -- the developer's online sharing platform -- you'll be able to create stories. You can create a story by tapping on thumbnails to select them. A running count of your selected photos is kept via a green badge in the upper-right corner. When your selection is complete, tap the green badge, which gives you options to share the group of photos (email, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Dropbox) or create a new story. A story is a collection of photos and text. You can create a cover image with a title and subtitle and then for each of the included photos you can choose one of two sizes and where to add text between the photos.

PhotosPro story — Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

You can save a story, which keeps it in the app and accessible from an option hidden behind the hamburger button in the upper-left corner. If you publish a story, it gets uploaded to the Pixotale Web site and you can then share a link to it.

While you can delete any story you create, you cannot delete individual photos within PhotosPro, a restriction Apple's API places on any third-party photo app.

Save YouTube videos to your iPhone for offline viewing

Store your favorite clips so you can watch them even when you're not connected.

Google's YouTube app is all well and good for watching Superman rescue Sandra Bullock, airplane passengers belt out "Circle of Life," and the like. But what if you want to view your favorite clips when there's no Internet (like, say, on an airplane)?

Furthermore, streaming lots of YouTube can quickly chew through your monthly data allotment, meaning unless you're connected to Wi-Fi, you should probably resist the urge to see your favorite "Nashville" song for the trillionth time.

The fix for both issues: Download YouTube clips for offline viewing. Google's own YouTube app doesn't allow this, but at least one iOS app does. Here's how to save YouTube clips to your iPhone.

Step one: Install iTube. It's a free YouTube player, though if you want to remove ads, it'll cost you 99 cents via an in-app purchase.

Step two: Browse or search YouTube for a video you want to save, then start it playing.

Step three: In the top-right corner, tap the little floppy-disk icon -- which is easy to identify because it bounces. (You may also see a somewhat misleading "Preload to Cache" label, which appears to be developer-speak for "Save to iPhone.")

Step four: For some videos you may have the option of selecting a resolution. Either way, tap Done. That starts the download process.

Step five: Tap the Cache icon and you'll see your saved video(s). Tap any one of them to play it -- no Internet connection required.

By the way, iTube lets you sign into your Google account (More > Account > Sign in) if you want to retrieve and save videos from your own playlists.

Thursday, October 23, 2014