OK, rather than continue with all the "I heards" and "someone saids", I called Manitou and spoke directly to their support guys. Here is the latest. All of the forks that have the 'current fix' installed do indeed have the 'bumper' that reduces the forks travel by 5mm (.19685 inches - that's less than 1/4 of an inch), at least that is their number. (even if you disagree and go with the 10mm value, we're talking .3937 inches, just above 1/3 of an inch.but definitely less than 1/2 inch) In addition, within 2 weeks, they will have the new damping rods available that will be the 'permanent fix', resulting in the full 145mm of travel, and can either be installed by your LBS or you can send the fork to Manitou to install at no charge.
Now, I have seen a lot of people commenting on how Giant screwed up, or Manitou is horrible, all over less than 1/2 inch of travel (less than 1/4 inch if you take Manitou's figures) Personally, I think that the only people who have any valid comments about the Reign and the fork are those who own them. People b!tching about the bike or the fork who have 'tested' or 'have a friend who owns one' don't really offer any valuable feedback as far as I'm concerned. I DO own one, and I've ridden the bike hard over the past 4 weeks, averaging 75-100 miles per week, all off road, no paved stuff. This past weekend, I did a 50 mile off road ride, ALL singletrack, and the ride was SWEET. In addition, I've taken it off some decent drops and it has responded well. Actually, I will probably have my LBS install the new damping rods when they are available, but I bought the bike without knowing any of this Manitou stuff, and would buy it again, knowing all that I do from 1) actually riding the bike for more than 10 minutes, and 2) actually speaking to Manitou to get the information.
If you ordered the bike, and it is on its way, be happy, you are going to love riding it. It is smooth as butter, and has only gotten better with each ride.