>>>it seems to want to 'phone home' for registration. Is this necessary? How can I stop it?
>>
>>Register it. :)
>
>Ah..(cough)...OK. I do a 'Help' 'About' and 'Register' is grayed out. Or is that a tug I feel on my leg :o)

I think it checks for updates but no updates exist at this time. AFAIK, There's no option to turn it off. However, if it fails to connect ones it wouldn't bother you anymore.