I agree cia. The biggest problem with stuff like this is that people are SO hooked on games that even when something like this comes up, "we" (as gamers/computer users/etc.) still put up with it. People are so ready to run out and buy that next game that they are willing to deal with problematic situations like this.
There is almost no other industry where this sort of thing would be allowed to be done, or, accepted by customers. However, due to years of "fiddling" with stuff, computer users are pretty much used to it. I think this is one reason why consoles, with their K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method of doing things are winning (have won) the game industry market.
Don't get me wrong, I love my PC games. But, I am just not going to accept these "little pushes". Continual acceptance of this sort of thing could lead to an industry where you have to pay each time you want to fire up a game (single or multiplayer). Okay, that's a bit drastic, but who would have thought several years ago a game release could have been done the way HL2 has been? :}