Holy god almighty.
What made any of you think this was acceptable?
I’ve been watching someone who is not computer literate at all install a CD-ROM-based game sold to the general public — you know, the kind of game found at brick and mortar non-computer stores that actual real-world people shop in!
And this is the crap routine:
1) Insert CD-ROM
2) Tell Windows Yes, Make Changes to the Computer
3) Whirrrrr
4) We must go online to register! Continue?
5) Yes.
6) Up pops AOL (which is set as default because, you know, this is a computer illiterate here!)
7) Whoa! We cannot do the online registration because where the hell is that browser I was expecting?
8) Install anyway
9) Whirrrrr
10) Hey, guess what? I’m an olllllld version of this CD-ROM game. You must update me online!!
11) WTF!!!!
But wait, it’s even worse than that!
This is a game bundle.
So you would think you can just say Install and all of the games would, you know, install, right?
Hell no!
You must go through each step above for every damn game.
And you people who think you’re so goddammed smart can’t figure out why the iPad sells in the millions and why people use it more than their desktop machines?
It’s because of your failure.
Mike Cane’s xBlog 
ooh snap! Excellent point.
x
One word for you “Steam”.
“You must go through each step above for every damn game.”
As was said: Steam. 3 clicks and you’ve purchased/downloaded/installed a game. “But I want a physical copy” doesn’t seem like a valid counter to this either since iPad doesn’t give you physical copies.
“And you people who think you’re so goddammed smart can’t figure out why the iPad sells in the millions and why people use it more than their desktop machines?”
Are there examples of people saying that they can’t figure out why iPad sells millions?
“brick and mortar non-computer stores that actual real-world people shop in”
^Can you shop in those stores for iPad apps?
>>>Are there examples of people saying that they can’t figure out why iPad sells millions?
Are you kidding me or are you new to the Net and weren’t here when the iPad was introduced?
Steam is a very nice answer to your concern. Although there is a Mac version, the Windows one has more titles and addresses some of the complexity of installations associated with CD-ROMs.
Also the more general Mac App Store is very similar and easy to operate even when it insists on dropping things in the dock.
Well said.