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One thing not emphasized is that lots of people make their living exploiting friction (or inefficiencies in economic jargon), so they have a vested interest in keeping things as they are (book distributors, book sellers).
Also many other people while theoretically benefiting from reducing friction, are afraid that they will lose their livelihoods (writers and publishers) if that happens, so unless there is external pressure they will resist change to the hilt.
My prediction is still that unless a magic wand appears that takes your print book and makes it digital fast, for free and at your convenience the way cdex say takes your cd and makes it mp3, only strong external pressure from some digitizing behemoth (Google, Amazon, national library...) will lead to widespread adoption of ebooks in the near future.
In the longer run all bets are off due to fast technological advancements, but right now that's how I've been seeing things for several years and there is nothing new to make me change my mind...
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