@Harry:
There have been reports of users simply being
unable to register their Kindles, even if they wanted to. I cannot verify this claim, but given the "regionalize everything" policy that Amazon seems to be pushing, I'm inclined to believe it. (Why does Amazon not allow european customers to download their
free games? Why can I only download "american" ebooks if my account is associated with amazon.com, and only "german" ebooks if it's associated with amazon.de?)
That topic aside, I do find very valid reasons to *not* register an ebook reading device. The Kindle has lots of functionality to phone back home, including valid reasons (checking for firmware updates etc.), but also including questionable practices (uploading log files). Call me paranoid, but I don't want Amazon snooping around in my personal "device usage history".
(The following is somewhat off-topic, but important IMO): There seems to be a striking difference between the average US/UK citizen and the average "european" citizen (DE, FR...) in terms of privacy "expectations". The average American or British just seems to be ok with "tape me on camera, inspect my personal documents, mine my personal history. As long as I do nothing wrong, I have nothing to fear." (Think of CCTVs, which are pretty much ubiquitous in the States and the UK; DNA tests for minor misdemeanors, ...)
I am personally NOT happy at all with constantly being supervised, monitored, and checked. Indeed, I wouldn't have to fear anything, because I'm doing no wrong (except for finding and publishing a jailbreak method for the Kindle Touch, which in itself is probably already a crime under US law and the DMCA, but is fortunately covered by my civil rights where I live).
Still, I see no reason for Amazon to silently gather more information about me than what they already know (which is already far too much, IMO. They are amazingly effective at suggesting books that I may like. In other words: they have a pretty accurate knowledge about my interests and my state of mind).
Did you ever think about
why Google and Facebook are among the most "valuable" companies nowadays? Their capital is not the brilliant engineers that they undoubtedly have -- it's the in-depth knowledge about the most private facets of their users.