Fully Charged: Chromecast wired ethernet adapter released, and Black Ops III beta dated

Chromecast ethernet adapter released

As incredibly handy as the Chromecast is, it depends on your living space having pretty strong wireless connectivity near your displays. If that’s a problem for you, worry not: Google just debuted a wired ethernet adapter for the dongle, which lets you plug into your home network.

It’s a simple-looking device: a power brick that has an ethernet port, as well as a cord that plugs right into the Chromecast. It sells for just US$15 (about £10), but demand has already outstripped supply: it apparently sold out within a couple hours of word spreading around the Internet. But at least the solution is real (and cheap), which could make the Chromecast way more awesome for a lot of people.

[Source: Google Store via Android Police]

Black Ops III beta begins next month

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Pspqx0XGs

Call of Duty‘s biggest current sub-series returns to make a proper trilogy on 6 November, but you won’t have to wait that long to get your hands on Black Ops III. Activision announced yesterday that the first-person shooter will launch an online multiplayer beta test on PlayStation 3 starting on 19 August.

Specific details aren’t yet available, although you’ll need to pre-order the game to get access. Xbox One and PC beta tests are also planned, seemingly after the PS4 test runs. The game is also coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, miraculously, although no early testing is planned. In fact, we’ll be surprised if we even see those versions in action before the release date.

[Source: Call of Duty]

Tidal adds family plans

If you’ve aligned yourself with Jay-Z and his Tidal service in the great streaming music wars, now you can add family members to your account for a lower rate: half-price, in fact. For the "premium" audio quality, that means you can add up to four additional members for £5 a month apiece (on top of your £10).

But for the lossless Hi-Fi audio quality, that means each family member is another £10 in addition to your £20 a month. Apple Music, which has audio quality more in line with Tidal’s lower tier, simply charges a flat rate of £15 for up to six total family members, and it sounds like Spotify is looking to adopt a family plan along those lines. It’s a good move for Tidal, but will it be enough to compete?

Super Impossible Road for PS4

Play

Impossible Road is a truly awesome, nail-biting endless roller for phones and tablets, and for its console debut, the series is doing more than just adding chrome to everything (although it’s definitely doing that). Instead, Super Impossible Road turns the shortcut-centric rolling into a multiplayer racing game, and it looks like a fantastic twist. No release target has been announced for the PlayStation 4 game, but here’s the first trailer.

[Source: PlayStation.Blog]