Interesting article. Particularly his comment about more folks buying and ripping CD's than downloading because they want the physical token of ownership (paraphrasing).
He Linked a Washington Times
article that discussed the obstacles to e-books. I think that in the long run, how well e-readers do or don't do, will depend mainly on how well such obstacles are addressed. If they aren't addressed well, then only technophiliacs like us will bother with e-readers, the better they are addressed, the more 'normal' folks will soften to them.
The WT article concluded that the best hope was to get kids using them for text books, and then they'll be accustomed to them when they grow up. I'm not sure that having my text books on an electronic reader would have well-disposed
me to such devices. I don't recall liking my textbooks too much.