As someone without connection, and having to put in a lot of blood sweat and tears to run the game I still broadly support Steam usage mainly on the basis of discussions I have seen on these forums regarding the alternatives and the communities broad preference for this over any other.

I think that DRM is probably a second strand to Steam's choice, as the software business model looks to be moving more to a portal based software provision (just look at google).

In answer to the legitimate concerns that people are raising about system resources, when I started gaming it was normal to run games from the DOS prompt, windows 3.1 was just another program. I resisted 95 when it launch because I resented the performance hit on my system, but as it became standard you have the choice, get it and play, or don't. Ultimately with its functionality in on-line support for patching and mods and a general trend for increased connectivity in the buying public, Steam and it's successors will probably become as ubiquitous. We are simply left with a the choice (in relation to the model), use it and play, or don't.