Alas, you are absolutely correct there.

However, if you have a LAN party going, and a decent machine which can act as a dedicated server, nothing quite beats being a dick and setting the server to spawn a mob every 7-15 seconds. Turn off the specials, or leave them on if you really want.. It becomes not so much a matter of if you run out of ammo, as much as when.

Obviously, this can only really be done on LAN games.

When playing seriously, yeah, that kind of server needs to be forced to appear only on the "Custom" tab.

1. Start L4D
2. Options
3. Keyboard/mouse
4. Enable developer console
5. Press the tilde
6. "openserverbrowser"
7. Pick one
8. ?????
9. Profit!

Yes, you need to connect to STEAM to validate the install - but usually only once. for third party games, I'll concede this may be different - STEAM allows the developer/publisher to set the intervals for validation.

Offline mode was flaky - but in recent months, when I've had to use it, I have had no issues with it - YMMV.

I'll concede the region locking point - however, I wonder what would happen if you were to contact Valve, should you move and lose access - I expect you'd have to proof it was your account, though.

If you want to take it elsewhere, just put the applicable folder from steamapps and put it on a USB stick - I have an 8GB USB stick with STEAM installed, Audiosurf installed via STEAM, and the rest is music, and I can take that, plug it into any computer, log in and play. Likewise, I have previously installed L4D and Gmod onto the same USB stick, and both worked flawlessly.

STEAM also allows you to back up entire game packages, be that to USB, DVD, or something more esoteric, merely by rightclicking the game on the list and selecting backup. or, if you prefer, manually backing up the .gcf and .ncf files.

Oh, and note; if you purchase a third party game via STEAM, you get a key. it is very easy to view said key - merely rightclick the game on your game list, and select "View Game Key".

I personally have a great deal of faith and trust in Valve - call me a fanboy if you will. I feel they have created a powerful platform, and that STEAM will only grow in years to come - it and Impulse are the only examples of Digital Distribution done right - no install limits, idiot proof. if you want to complain about something, complain about the goddamned adverts, and the fact that some of the third party files seem to take a lot longer to download.

If you want to complain about third party pricing, keep in mind that Valve don't get an awful lot of say in that.

Not true - you are free to take the game elsewhere, as you are free to install on as many machines as you please.

If you get a new machine, just copy over the STEAM folder and run the .exe - it'll just work, even off a USB stick.

You also do not need to connect to STEAM to play - once it's installed, and you've run it once, you can play it in offline mode from that point on.

Whilst I have heard of people losing their VAC standing, which means they cannot play online on VAC secured servers, the only time I've heard of STEAM locking entire accounts is when a fraudulent purchase is made, or a charge does not process correctly.

and if Valve ever goes out of business, they have already developed and tested a "kill switch" patch for the client, to remove all activation requirements.

yes, it does work - all you have to do is copy the entire STEAM folder - when you run STEAM, it'll just work.
Better yet, if you just want to transfer a single game, you can just move the package or the applicable folder into the other machines steamapps dir, and it'll work.