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Comment by gddr | Hacker News Reader

I hate Steam's DRM. People keep trying to convince people that it does not actually require an Internet connection and all that. Try using it for 6 months with a 0.2 Mbps connection that gets randomly cut every 5-10 seconds. It can literally take 10 minutes "Preparing to launch" a game. I really hope it doesn't expand to other software.

The funniest part is: "Could not connect to Steam network. Start in Offline Mode?". You answer yes. "Error: could not connect to Steam network. This operation cannot be completed in Offline Mode". Maximum trollgaben.

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The offline mode only works well when you are online and you know you will want to use it offline next time.

If you're already offline, you're screwed. I remember once having to connect up my phone as a modem just to launch Steam so I could start it online, then switch offline.

Agreed - if they want to have a hope for general application adoption they will need to loosen their DRM somewhat.

Having to use their launcher is also annoying - while it's nice to have the majority of my games in one place, none of my non-Steam games require me to launch a store application before running.

I'm interested to see what they'll do, but I would be very hesitant to buy a productivity application from them as things stand.

I've had steam work fine on a pretty slow connection. The only real issue I had was if the connection degraded, steam would take a long time to load because of the embedded web pages.

Otherwise in my experience .2Mbps is fine. But I'm boggled at a connection that would cut every 5-10 seconds. How could you stand trying to load images on that? What would cause that?

.2Mbps...maybe that's your real problem? DRM is here to stay, and internet drm is increasingly popular. Maybe time to upgrade your connection?

It's barely even DRM... it's more like you just have to be logged in to Steam to launch online games or games that specifically require an Internet connection.

I've started Steam in offline mode to play my singleplayer games whenever I don't have an internet connection quite often, and without issue.

But I agree, his 0.2 MB/s connection is probably the main problem there. The issue isn't with Steam's download speeds... it's with his ISP's.

Yeah. Steam games aren't encrypted, for instance. They aren't locked to your computer. You can copy the game content files, re-install steam, copy them back, and you'll still have your games provided you can still log into Steam.

.2Mbps = .025MB/s

I'm sure if he was capable of upgrading his connection he would. A lot of places (even in the US) are still not equipped with high speed internet. Just a couple of years ago in Washington State I was still on dial up (albiet in a fairly rural area, but still not more than 45 minutes outside Portland, OR.).

Right. But saying you cant have internet based DRM because you dont have a capable connection is equivalent to denying the last 5 years of progress.

"Maybe time to upgrade your connection?"

While I've no idea of the other guys situation, "suggestions" like this really boil my blood. A huge portion of people serving in the milatary, people in crappy college dorms, people working in hotels, people in rural areas, people in countries that are still building infrastructure, all these people can't just decide to get faster internet. It's elitest, rude, and completely ignores a real issue many people don't have a choice but to put up with.

Sure, sometimes you don't have a choice. But saying progress cant be made because it cant accommodate the edge cases is absurd. Dont like Steams DRM? Dont use it. But dont bitch about it because you cant use it properly.

When I bought the games I did on Steam, I was under the impression that it had a functional offline mode. After all, when I'd used it before, it was reliable. But since, the few times when I've tried it, it's failed. It's made me partly regret the purchases I've made, because I thought they would be available offline but now are not.

Again, you don't know people's situation. It's arrogant to criticize (edit: without having better information). "Bitching" about a poorly implemented system is entirely valid. Pardon me for foolishly believing the "Play offline" button would allow me to play my games offline, but it is labelled exactly as such.

Yes, and we should also support IE6 forever!

If users are never annoyed or alienated, it will mean that progress has stopped.

Luckily I'm on a 30Mbps connection now ;-)

Do you still dislike Steams DRM on 30Mbps?

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