Running Windows on a computer does not make it a PC. Having the computer in your posession for personal use, as opposed to business use, makes it personal. That's why Macs are also PCs. So are computers with Linux/BSD/OS2/etc installed.

Actually there are games on steam they cannot take away from you. I myself have played the eve online demo with a full subscription, installed through steam, and even launched the steam installed version without steam installed. Your blanket conclusion is incomplete.

One thing you are however forgetting is what STEAM grants you beyond past methods of distribution, and that is infinite portability. I personally have gone over to my friends' house, logged into steam, installed a small game or even larger games at their place, without any coughs or issues. Why is this good? Because I installed without the disks, or even having to prove I was me beyond my account login. While this won't necessarily work for every game on STEAM, it works for a notable majority. This is simply one of the benefits STEAM offers you over conventional (store/mail) distribution.

Some other features which STEAM offers quite well is the community/group/achievment and other cloud systems. VALVe is trying to increase the titles which have cloud configurations enabled, with the intent of logging on other systems and having your personal configurations (ala config files for tf2) follow you around. Furthermore, you can participate in coordination with communities and groups in STEAM both with a STEAM client and through the steamcommunity.com website (with limited capacity).

The fact of the matter is STEAM is greater than a simple method of DRM. It is an improved method of distribution through portability. There are plenty of other benefits too such as granting developers a centralized forum to communicate directly with their fans, the ability to offer promotional offers such as gift passes, discounted weekends, centralized distribution of demos, and plenty more.

It is not fair to focus strictly on one element of STEAM without balancing it against the rest of what it has to offer.

I for one (heart) STEAM.

I guess I'm not a customer despite my monthly access fee...

Talk about return on investment!

So, what distros are they going to support? Because Windows isn't the only OS on the PC.

6Gb/s is pretty good, but I suspect as SSD's accelerate in development that the 6Gb/s limit will be reached before the next generation of SATA. How long has SATA 3Gb/s been around? Quite a while...

Crippleware is crippled.

I'm tired from work, my first response was... "Mr gates thinks my blog is a weapon?"

I need more sleep...

That's too bad. I hear vi is a good tool to have.

it just... BBRRRAAAIINNNNSSS

I could see this technology useful for datacenters. However, considering the source I am hesitant to believe it was developed for such a honest purpose.

If you want to talk "Free" games, check out Trackmania Nations.

Nadeo worked with ESWC, nVidia and other groups to release a free version of their series. Trackmania the series, Nations the free version. It's done wonders for their uptake.

It's also a fantastic series.

There are good reasons I know nobody who has internet access through Rogers or Bell.

I'm based out of Calgary, and Shaw treats us like kings. We get fantastic speeds for what we pay, and we get them for everything we do. INCLUDING P2P.
Even Telus is head and shoulders above Bell and Rogers (although, they still have their issues).

Bullshit like this is why I will NEVER recommend Rogers or Bell to any friends/clients/colleagues or even my enemies.

Frankly, I don't understand how they even stay afloat in this province. I have yet to meet someone who has even seen a Rogers or Bell internet setup here.

Furthermore, considering the gap in opinion between the East part of Canada and the West I can see how our common concerns (IE: Traffic Shaping and Net Neutrality) would fall on deaf ears; most other things fall on such ears too. On the flip side, I am glad they didn't implement those ridiculous Copyright changes mid 2008, phew.

Did you really think that Microsoft tying with Novell was a good idea?

This is just the beginning. We've seen what Microsoft is prepared to do... everything and anything to make the most money, ever.

Why trust them? They always say one thing and often do another. You aren't their friend, you are their source of money.

Or... you could just switch to linux.

Nah, too easy.