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People vent because there is something to vent at. I'm not sure the ranting about e-book prices (which I know I think about myself) is any more than anything else. We (on these forums and as readers) just notice it more. People were ranting about CD and DVD prices a while back just as they are about books now.
The interesting thing when I think of CD's and Music is that when the CD's are cheaper than the digital albums (and it does occur), it is very easy to convert the CD to a digital format. It's not that easy with books.
With movies and dvd's, the prices have seemed to come back down a bit, but then services like Netflix have made the need to even buy DVD's minimal.
Books on the otherhand are still in an infancy with regard to digital vs. traditional format. Heck other forms like music and film haven't even figured it out, yet.
The frustration I see is mostly because we have two different business models operating through one company. It is frustrating to see physical books going for a price less than electronic, yet I think what is lost is that the ebooks are often cheaper than the actual cover prices. I have a hard time seeing that as browsing your ebook retailer, you can't help but see the physical price and the ebook price. The cover-price is difficult to find.
The other big frustration is the fact that the ebook prices fluctuate quite a bit in the agency world. I often add books to my Kindle Wishlist in hopes of waiting for their prices to come down to my level. I keep expecting an ebook price drop matching up with the shift from Hardcover to Paperback that most of us grew up with. If I want a book during the hard-cover stage, then I'll get it. But if I can wait, I do. I can't help but notice that some ebooks on my list actually go up in price. A year ago, I purchased the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy for about $6.99 a book (maybe a bit more for the third since it was new). I now notice that the ebooks are now all at $9.99 because of the movie. I can't blame the publisher, but this has not been my only observed increase.
I've had a few Steinbeck books on my list to buy, and many are now well over $10. They were all around $9.99 when I put them on my list.
Ultimately, I don't buy the books because I don't need to. As others have mentioned, there are plenty of Indie authors out there, libraries, deals, etc to draw from.
I suppose the only thing that is needed that would perhaps be ideal is some sort of service akin to Netflix. I would love some type of subscription service where I could read all the books I want (one at a time) for a cost per month. Amazon Prime is getting there, but one book a month is not ideal. It would also be nice to have the flexibility to have it per device (perhaps similar to the multiple DVD at a time format of Netflix).
Libraries sort of serve a similar purpose, but that is a whole other frustration. Waiting lists, limited availability, etc all make it a challenging alternative to buying ebooks. Perhaps libraries could improve their offerings, but it can be a burden on the library system if they have to foot the bill to the publishers.
Ultimately, I hope this is an iterative process. I can't see the current agency models for ebooks standing up. The success of indie authors and publishers will become more pronounced and noticeable ultimately requiring some changes. Patience is all that is needed.
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