Well when you can start making an exact working copy of your car from your car over and over, you might have to start that exercise program you've been putting off.

The reason is because they have to get the publishers permission to do it, they can't just say "Hey Activision, we're doing a free weekend for CoD:WoW"

Why do you need to "predownload" something before you buy it. If you are going to buy the game after the download finishes, it's the same thing as buying and then downloading it. Unless you are wanting to predownload it and then buy it later when you can afford it. Beyond that one scenario I don't see the value in predownloading it.

Well I would say that is your mistake for buying a retail copy. Steam usually sells the game for cheaper anyway not to mention weekend deals and all that fun stuff. The reason why I've heard is because of KeyGens.

I disagree. The entire point of Steam is not having to worry about physical media and keys, not having to download patches and hope it installs correctly or using another system to find servers. The point is all the tools you need are built and/or automatically done for you. Get a new computer, go to a friends house, need more HDD space, no problem. The games can be downloaded with the latest patches and installed for you in less then an hour or two (depending on connection and such) without having to worry about damaged media and lost keys. So, yeah, you're right. No benefit what so ever.