I'm absolutely certain there will be plenty of easy and free ways to produce and read ePub documents. Anybody will be able to produce content.
ePub is a great step forward. Proper document structure (which allows reflow) will make the difference.
As Dennis says, most writers just want to write. And if they want to selfpublish they aren't scared of using a couple of apps. Besides, self publishing is much more complicated than just creating digital content, I'd say that's the easy part. We should ask Steve. . .
Any author willing to selfpublish should be willing to invest a little time and money into it. Skilled ones will need smaller investment (actually they invested earlier by learning). If you have even thought about self-publishing then I'd say you can do it.
If somebody thinks that a copy of inDesign is a huge barrier for entering publishing, then well, I'm speechless...
Moreover, those "big-evil-media conglomerates" have nothing against authors and self-plublished authors, or content creators ... guess what, they need them.
But it's true that as the ebook revolution progresses it will be possible to have a much more decentralized publishing market.
The role of current publishing houses in that scenario will shift from production and distribution to quality control (ie: content screening)
Finally, about the possibility of promoting easier lighter standards, well the problem is that no matter how technically sound your proposal is, it doesn't matter. You have to be in a relevant position, in a relevant forum, at the right time. IDPFIDPFIDPFIDPFIDPF
