>>I'm just curious about stuff. I want to play with the trial, read the manual, see the data sheets and whitepapers, etc. But your stupid website demands my contact information.

It's so that a few days after you download the PDF, someone can contact you and ask what you thought. I've been in that position a few times and I really appreciated it, because I was really busy and had totally forgotten to read the material.

Besides, it's a really, really good way to identify which companies are worth doing business with. You provide your contact info to five companies and then check to see which ones care enough to call you vs. just spam you with junk. IME signals like that matter as much as the product itself.