Where's that damn manual...?!

After spending all weekend ripping apart my apartment searching for a manual for a game that was a substitute for another game that I could not find the media for, this started an internal question as to both a) why there is not an online account management system for PC video games (or software in general, for that matter), and why are manuals still included in games, and not just linked off of the web? How many people still honestly read them, and how many trees die for these mini-novels that never see the light of day? I know Steam is trying to change the media delivery system, but could someone please solve and unify the industry to take away these other frustrations?

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