I understand the perceptual difference (it's annoying when features that are already there are "taken away," and less annoying when new features just don't appe

I understand the perceptual difference (it's annoying when features that are already there are "taken away," and less annoying when new features just don't appear.) But is there an actual difference? The time he's spent on network-dependent features may have been spent on other, more interesting features for everyone if the networked features didn't also serve as piracy prophylaxis.