Actually, the only place that has ever asked for my phone number was Radio Shack and I told them they didn't need to know that in order to sell me a 9 volt battery and when the salesman said "but we need it for our records" I said "you know what? I can just buy batteries at the supermarket instead". Now, the places where I'm most likely to buy software have never asked me for any personal information, not even my name. Strange world, ain't it? Kate