They make it sound like you have to have Impulse running in order to ever play the game.
I read it the same way. I couldn't see any way to leave a comment or reply, so I fired off an email to hopefully get him to clarify. Here is the text:
Hello. In the "Demigod Preview" article by Jeff Buckland, there is a piece of misinformation that I would like to see corrected.
The article makes it seem like Impulse mirrors Steam, in that the player must have it installed and running in order to play the game. This is simply not the case. Impulse does NOT have to run, or even be installed in order to play. This is one of the many differences between it and Steam.
Impulse only has to be installed in order to receive updates. The process is to load Impulse, download and install the update, close Impulse, and play your game.
Would you please contact Mr.Buckland so that he can amend his article.
Sincerely, a concerned gamer.
I think that Stardock and/or GPG should contact them also, as their input would most likely carry more weight than some random gamer's.