Valve SteamOS is available for download right now

And just like that, Valve's SteamOS is upon us.

Valve's new operating system has headed into the wild, available for consumers and OEMs alike to download and take for a ride.

But be warned - Valve advised earlier this week that for now only the most dedicated Linux users should download SteamOS, which is still in beta. The rest of us are best left waiting till 2014 to access a more finished version.

Valve isn't joking either; a SteamOS FAQ warns both the system's install methods "will erase everything on the machine," meaning only the truly committed should saddle up.

Several reports indicate there are currently issues downloading SteamOS, potentially do to a rush of eager users. If you feel competent and confident enough to give the system a spin, you can download the 960MB installer by following the link provided by Steam Database or through the instructions in the FAQ.

What we know about SteamOS

The release of SteamOS falls on the same day Valve's Steam Machine prototypes are making their way to 300 beta testers, who via email instructions can go about installing the software.

Designed to port PC games to the TV (thus bringing Linux to the living room), the OS runs Steam and Steam titles. It does include a desktop mode that supports regular Linux applications.

According to the same SteamOS FAQ, the system is a fork of Debian GNU/Linux. SteamOS 1.0 - what we have today - is based on Debian stable 7.1 ("wheezy") distribution.

The hardware requirements for SteamOS 1.0 include an Intel or AMD 64-bit capable processor, 4GB+ memory, a 500GB or larger disk, UEFI boot support, a USB port for installation and Nvidia graphics.

Intrepid tinkerers could even go so far as to build their own rudimentary Machines thanks to Valve's specs.

The company noted that AMD and Intel graphics support is on the way soon.

Windows games and apps are not playable or runnable on SteamOS, the FAQ was sure to point out, however it does support streaming games from a Windows computer.

What's to come

We're not seeing mention of the functions specifically yet, but SteamOS is also meant to stream music, TV and movies while having family sharing features.

OS updates carrying security and bug fixes are due "as we are comfortable shipping them," and while the beta channel will funnel fixes on a weekly or even daily basis, the released channel will see them "every few months."

Commercial Steam Machines along with Valve's nifty Steam Controller are due to land next year. We will see plenty from the company as well as its partners at CES 2014, so keep an eye out for much more.

• We'd love to include a Steam Machine in our Holiday Gift Guide. Oh well.

The HTC One 2 may have just gotten certified with super-fast Wi-Fi

The HTC M8, a.k.a the HTC One 2, has surfaced yet again, this time appearing with its Wi-Fi certification.

According to the Wi-Fi certification, the HTC One 2 will indeed come with a Wi-Fi antenna capable of switching between the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.

It will also support all the Wi-Fi standards (a, b, g and n) including the latest 802.11ac variety.

Also known as 5G Wi-Fi, 802.11ac can deliver ludicrously fast wireless connections with better range, reliability and power consumption.

What we know about the HTC M8

It's not the most exciting tidbit we've learned about the HTC One successor, but it's another piece of the puzzle we'll take.

So far, we've heard the M8 will come with a punchier 2.26GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor paired with the Qualcomm Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. Less verified rumors suggest HTC was looking to boost the M8 to an octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM.

On top of this, the screen may be a solid 5-inches with the same 1920 x 1080 resolution. The whole machine is believed to land with Android 4.4 KitKat.

As for its exoskeleton, we at TechRadar posit the phone will look relatively the same as its predecessor, and be constructed with a metal body. Turn the phone around and HTC may pack the camera sensor with 10MP Ultapixels.

Those last few points are our own predictions, but it seems like the HTC One 2 is on course for reveal soon. Perhaps MWC 2014 will be its time to shine?

• Netflix says be cool man, binge watching is totally normal and healthy.

Gary Marshall: Apple: it just works (eventually)

Slogans are powerful things, but they can often become sticks to beat their creators with: how many times do you think Google's execs wished they'd never come up with "don't be evil"? Apple's equivalent is probably "it just works", which pretty much everyone on the planet is familiar with.

Other firms' products require endless patches and cause endless irritation, but Apple's stuff just works.

...except when it doesn't.

Maybe this is an unusually bad week, but today alone our front page has two stories of Apple stuff that didn't just work: there's a Mavericks update to make Gmail work properly in Mail, and Apple has also issued a software fix to stop MacBook Pros from freezing.

That's not all. I was one of very many Mavericks upgraders whose initial installation refused to finish, citing terrible hard disk damage, and others seem even unluckier: some Western Digital external drive users have seen their data disappear.

And then there's iWork, the exciting new update that took away stacks of features that power users had come to depend upon. Apple has since published a support document detailing the missing features it's going to put back in. And lots of people are pretty unhappy with iOS 7 too.

Have we gone from "it just works" to "it might work"?

Damaging the brand?

It's tempting to accuse Apple of slipping quality control, but then Apple has dropped the ball before. Remember iOS 6 Maps, or the furore over Final Cut Pro X? And before anyone invokes the increasingly annoying "this would never have happened under Steve Jobs" mantra, we need to throw in the launch of MobileMe, the buttonless iPod Shuffle and the cracking - literally - G4 Cube.

Perhaps the truth is simple: Apple has always messed up, but today it appears to be messing up on a much bigger scale because it's a much bigger company with a much bigger profile, catering for a much wider variety of customers in a much wider variety of configurations and circumstances. It's not any less competent than before. It's just under much more scrutiny.

That may be true, but even if it is it's a worry: Apple's entire brand is based on being better, on delivering a premium experience and charging accordingly, and if it breaks that promise the brand image suffers as a result. You buy Apple stuff because it doesn't throw a strop halfway through an OS installation, wipe your external drive and refuse to play nice with your documents. You buy it because it doesn't produce mysterious errors or shut down or freeze for no good reason.

You buy Apple stuff on a promise, and that promise is "it just works".

If it doesn't, what exactly are you paying a premium for?

The year of the APU: AMD says 2014 is shaping up to be a big one

At a conference called APU13, you can expect the subject matter to follow the script pretty much to the letter. But it's evident AMD is anticipating more from its multi-part processors well beyond this week in San Jose.

"Yes, it's shaping up that way," said Gabe Gravning, director of marketing, AMD Client Business Unit, when TechRadar asked whether the company is positioning 2014 as a big year for the APU.

"Between Mantle, HSA, bringing TrueAudio DSPs, integrating more and more in the security code processor, more IP with these processors - it's pretty good. It's probably one of the best lineups that we've got going into 2014."

"The million-dollar question is what form factors and devices stick based on where the market is," he continued. "How many Windows devices are going to be sold this year as we try to bridge to Android and other platforms as well."

A new dawn

Gravning spoke to us following a briefing on AMD's newly announced Beema and Mullins APUs, the latest to join its 2014 mobile APU roadmap.

The company is keeping many details close to vest, promising more to come at CES 2014. It's then we expect to meet OEM partners, handle the first devices and learn if AMD's performance figures really add up.

With Kaveri, AMD decided to skip over mobile at first and go straight desktop. The first machines packing the HSA-featured part will launch on January 14. Beema and Mullins, which scratch into Puma cores and boast 2x the performance per watt than their predecessors, will be available before Computex in June.

With Intel's Bay Trail lapping up plenty of tablet attention, AMD will have to have a good year indeed - starting with an impressive at CES - for its 2014 APU line-up to really take off.

• Haven't read our updated hands on PS4 review? What are you waiting for?