Un-Boxing and Getting Started with Amazon's Kindle

About a month ago, I got a Kindle as an early birthday present (Thanks Sachi's Mom!)  Since that time, I've become consumed by not only the device, but the potential for it to become a foundation for Amazon to disrupt the publishing industry. 

Indeed, there are two parts to any discussion about Kindle (1) the device and how it works (2) how Amazon will use it and it's Digital Text Platform to create a micro-payment economy for authors.