pipe dream plumbing

I have ranted many times offline about my thoughts for the future of online distribution and storage. In essence I would like to purchase content without the hassle of having to store it myself. I don't want to collect DVDs, I want to buy (or rent) the rights to watch a DVD whenever I like. The reason is simple; if I'm not at home, but in a hotel room or at a friends house I want to be able to watch my movies or play my games.

gmail have got off to a good start with persistent email storage, and flickr offer some good rates on permanent image storage.

Because of my grand thoughts about online content, I was happy when I read this article

Microsoft has inked a deal with Exent Technologies that will effectively bring Microsoft Games Studios content to the world of online game distribution.

Valve tried online game distribution recently using Steam, but they only half succeeded. Their part-failure seemed to be fueled by gamers' reluctance to accept the procedure. With Microsoft on the bandwagon with their games, hopefully it'll start things moving in that direction.