That's right. All of the data we have in "permanent" storage right now will eventually be obsolete and unusable. And in computer terms, "eventually" means in 10-20 years. If it isn't made obsolete by storage and retrieval techniques, it will be lost to storage media failure or attrition (meaning the existing data will not be moved to a future storage media).
The internet is not a permanent repository. It's really a house of cards.
but printed matter is not a permanent storage either. nothing is, at this point. isn't there a story about the great library of alexandria back in whenever it was (sorry, i'm not good with details!) that was completely burned down during some war? and a whole bunch of really important texts were forever lost? the thing is, not everything is ~worth~ archiving... in fact, i would bet that 99% of stuff online AND in print isn't worth archiving for future generations. humans are hoarders, we're constantly trying to hang on to stuff, to preserve it, to dig it up and save it.
i mean, if you walk into a book store and take a look at the shelves, how much of that stuff do you ~really~ think is so incredibly important that it's too good to be read electronically? why should people not have a choice about how they process data? book lovers will continue to buy books; people who don't give a fuck about print will buy e-books. i do a lot of my reading while not at home (probably most of it, actually), and i can tell you that lugging around a big heavy hardcover is a pain in the ass - especially if you're like me and prefer to have a couple of books in case your mood changes, or you're about to finish one book and need another to start - and let me tell you that it really fucks your shoulders up. what about people who don't have access to book stores or libraries, or space to store books, or people who travel/move around a lot?
i guess my point is this: there will always be people who care about books and will continue to publish them. but if other people DON'T care, i don't think they should be forced to. fuck it, i think if people are reading at all we should be encouraging it, whatever medium is utilised.
personally, i will always want to own my favourite books and keep them, and i don't intend to buy any kind of e-reader till they're a lot more fine-tuned (and cheaper!), but you have to embrace new things, to certain extent, in order to have any kind of control over them (keep your friends close and your enemies closer!).