According to Daz Spooky, thats not true. You can use it offline, as long as you have at least once connected and downloaded your Auth key, which is what will be used to unlock products downloaded from Daz Connect. It's a new method of keeping content safe...very similar to how iClone or Unity does it.

2. For users that want a single file they can download for a product we are building that option right now. It is my fault that this feature has not yet been implemented, I prioritized features that would improve the online experience first. You will be able to download (and backup) a package file (I don't want to call it a zip because the contents are encrypted) and an authorization file (that is unique to your user) which will let you install products while offline. You will have to connect any new machine at least once to download your user key to that machine but after that these package and authorization files can be used without ever connecting again.