But you know what? I got over myself, bought one (the wi-fi only model), and I love the thing.

The bottom line is that:

A.  I buy all my books from Amazon anyway.

B.  I don't lend books to friends (they never ask) so I don't need a lending feature.

C.  I don't get books from the library and don't need ePub support.

D.  There are plenty of tools to convert free ePub books to other formats the Kindle can use.

E.  A little online research tells me that if I absolutely needed to crack the DRM for some reason, it could be done.

A lot of these issues were really just rationalizations getting in the way of me enjoying a state-of-the-art eReader.

So here are a few comments and observations after just three weeks of ownership.

1.  The out-of-box experience is phenomenal.  I don't remember every detail, I just remember opening the frustration-free packaging and being impressed by the fact that the Kindle already had the instructions displayed!  Easiest gadget setup ever.

2.  It is shockingly quick and simple to purchase and download new books.  I immediately knew that I would need to make a conscious effort to hang onto my wallet.

3.  I love the size and light weight of the Kindle, and the fact that I can hold it in one hand and a cup of coffee or tea in the other and just read.  The device does truly disappear, just as advertised.  At times I like the heft of the Kindle plus leather cover, and at times I like the fact that it slides in and out of the cover so easily and effortlessly... really the best of both worlds.

4.  I love being able to have several different books available (well, all I have right now is several... the Kindle stores thousands).  Sometimes you're just not in the mood for one thing and want another.

5.  I feel free to buy books that I would have hesitated about in the past because they would have taken up space in my house and sat on a shelf for several years while I debated about whether to keep them or let them go.  Now it's easy... keep them, and easily access them at any time!

6.  I bought the Kindle because I want to read more books.  I do not want ways to view more videos, waste more time surfing the web or updating social networks, or any of those incessant distractions.  I get bombarded with that stuff at work or on my smartphone.

7.  The e-Ink screen is delightful.  I look at LCD screens all day long and I really don't have any desire to spend more time doing that.  That said, the grayscale-only Kindle reminds me of my first laptop which was grayscale-only (back about '91 or '92), and look how far we've come since then.  I'm quite sure we'll all be reading color e-Ink screens or something similar within a couple of years and grayscale devices will become relics in the dawn of a new era (like the monochrome Palm III I still have!).

So in a nutshell, I love the Kindle... the advantages far outweigh any disadvantages.  This was a deliberate step on my part to becoming more of a "satisficer" instead of a "maximizer", and I'm glad I took the plunge.  But you still won't see me buying an iPod anytime soon... that's another subject entirely!