Yes, it's BS that I couldn't play my Steam-powered games a few days ago because Valve released a patch. Musta just been my imagination.
There is simply no justification for it to be okay that Steam renders games completely unusable any time servers are under too much load. You fanboys can sit here and claim BS all day, but the simple fact of the matter is that the way Steam handles updates and game authentication could've been a lot better. Hell, even Microsoft does it better, by giving you a clear and easy option to have the OS notify you when updates are available, to let you, with a few clicks of the mouse, automate the retrieval and installation of them. And it's stupidly obvious that Valve should have separated the authentication side of Steam from the file transfer side, especially knowing the high volume of bandwidth that would be going through Steam's servers.
Instead, you just insist on tossing out crap like this, attacking the credibility and intelligence of all who disagree with you just because they're not as willing to fellate Valve's member thinking that it can do no wrong. Tell that to a friend of mine, who's CD key was deactivated before he ever even tried using the game - he was one of many ATi owners who were supposed to get Half-Life 2 through Steam after having bought an ATi video card.
I bought Half-Life 2, and I'm glad I did. I haven't even played it much yet but I'm already impressed with it. (Only reason I haven't spent much time on it is because I already have a bunch of games on my plate.) But the ignorance displayed here is just palpable. It's ridiculous.