I expected more from Ars, but today they posted their "test" of Spore's DRM.

[url]http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080916-ars-puts-spore-drm-to-the-testwith-a-surprising-result.html[/url]

Their test consisted of the following:

[LIST]
[*]Install on PC1
[*]Uninstall on PC1
[*]Install agian on PC1
[*]install on PC2
[*]Install on PC3
[*]Install on PC4
[/LIST]

That's it. From a site that thoroughly tests applications that are not controversial, they sure dropped the ball hard on this controversial subject. Guess what their results were. The DRM is not as big a problem as we thought.

They could have tested the following:

[LIST]
[*]Upgrade various hardware components while the game is installed. (RAM, Video card, sound card, DVD Drive etc)
[*] Reinstall Windows without uninstalling the game.
[*]Install Windows service packs while the game is installed. (ie from SP2 to SP3)
[*] Install cd/dvd ripping software or iso burning software while the game is installed.
[/LIST]

They didn't. Why? I have no idea.