Paingiver: Oh, no.... =(
I really am trying to find support in a place where people mistake a cat for an elephant. And this forum would tell other gamers what the DRM is. My folly...
No, authentication is not even even a tiny atomic close to DRM. DRM is whole different matter.
DRM(Digital Restrictions Management) is a whole different matter:
http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm And a pretty video explaning the "Trusted Computing":
http://www.lafkon.net/tc/
Incorrect.
First, DRM iis Digital Rights Management.. which is odd because it should actually be Distribution Rights Management, but that's beside the point.
That aside, Windows does use DRM, perhaps not as intrusive of a DRM as some video game, but the simple undeniable fact is, even a CD key is DRM in the simplest form.. and before CD keys, there were books with games that had information you needed to play the game.
All DRM is, at all, is a means for the IP holder to attempt to prevent unauthorized redistribution of their IP. That is ALL IT IS.
The problem is, as the internet rose to power, many people began using it to distribute illegitimate copies of well.. everything they could. Books, music, video games, software, etc. and as such the IP holders have been scrambling for a way to prevent said distribution.
Why do you think iTunes is so popular with music labels? The same reason Steam is popular with video game publishers: it hinders piracy (in their minds at least) and it puts their product on a platform used by millions of people.
Some of the DRM methods aren't as bad, all things considered, Steam is not really a bad form of DRM so long as the service stays active, and as long as the service stays profitable for the companies involved, Steam will stay active. I personally, as a rule, never pay full price for a .. video game at all, and definitely not a Steam game.
Other forms of DRM though, are a problem.. the 'always online' thing.. that's an issue for me, because the cable at my house has spurts of instability. And lets not forget some of the ones that popped their heads up once or twice like "you can only install this game once!!!" type shit.
What companies really need to do is use a method of DRM that actually rewards the player for paying for the game.. because no, they don't need to completely get rid of DRM. Do you know why GOG works? GOG works because it's a fringe community and focuses on the older games, many of which aren't even available anywhere else. Even then, on various P2 P netowkrs there are plenty of copies of games from GOG being distributed, taking advantage of GOG's DRM-free platform.
Oh and as an aside, the argument as to whether or not GOG's account systems are DRM: It's not, at all, because there is absolutely nothing, aside from a sense of human decency, to prevent you from dumping the installers to a CD and giving them to your friends, or on a P2P network and giving them to the WORLD.. or even just giving a friend your account name and password to download a few of your games.
By comparison, other DD services may include such protections in (some of) the games they sell.. or there's services like Steam which require account verification to be able to play your games.
