I, for one, salute our new digital masters.
This is really not quite as revolutionary as you might think, though not in common use. Google Books, for example, intends to keep the content on their servers, and let you access it in your web browser. Similarly, subscription music services like Rhapsody work on the same principle.
And, of course, numerous existing services already rely on connecting to a remote server somewhere for authentication or coordination, and others (like Wikipedia) are information sources without any specific authority that can be altered at any time.
Of course, one
could rely on copyright to keep the content distributors in line, but heaven forbid anyone says something positive about copyright 'round these parts.....
"Oh! most mighty king, the boundless air, that keepest the earth suspended in space, thou bright Aether and ye venerable goddesses, the Clouds, who carry in your loins the thunder and the lightning, arise, ye sovereign powers and manifest yourselves in the celestial spheres to the eyes of your sage." (Arisophanes)