I don’t miss the 80’s — EZJTK9VXBJBQ

Do you miss the era of secret hidden codes in software manuals and books?  Where every sale was to an assumed software thief?

To prove that you paid for this software, please open to page 55, paragraph 3, word 5….  Flip, flip, flip, What the ???

And then he said EZJTK9VXBJBQ to the computer.

Sure, now there is other DRM devices, and workflows.  But that’s one reason I use steam…  While it’s not perfect, I know my software is safe, and I can install it as many times as I want/need to…

What’s your opinion?  Has it changed since the 80’s?  And if so, in a good way or bad way?