In my view, the name "The Browser Company of New York" feels cheerful and evokes an old-timey, skilled craftsmen feel. They do care a lot about storytelling and their brand, and their relationship to their users.
It should not be required if you do not want sync across devices, bug reports, etc (or if you just want to copy the configuration by yourself instead). However, apparently it requires anyways, and that is no good. It also should not require an internet connection if you are only going to view local files and/or LAN.