I removed the version that came with my HP Notebook as well. Whatever you do, DON'T do the Recommended install - do the Custom. If you do it this way, you can automatically turn off a lot of the "features" without having to go through menus. I have CDDB turned off too becasuse I am usually not connected to the net. So when I do want CDDB info, I just hit the "refresh" button instead of waiting 30 seconds for it to time out when I am NOT connected.... I really don't want song recommendations, so I turned that off too.

I have registered, and I don't get any emails or spam. (just be sure not to check the box asking for email offers)