The article points out: "Since the falling costs of digital technology let you make as much stuff as you want, Anderson argues, and the magic of the word “free” creates instant demand among consumers, then Free (Anderson honors it with a capital) represents an enormous business opportunity. Companies ought to be able to make huge amounts of money “around” the thing being given away—as Google gives away its search and e-mail and makes its money on advertising."
This is exactly the approach one of the most success online newspapers is taking, The Guardian, with their Open Platform. Their approach is not to fight the internet, but to become part of it's fabric:
www.guardian.co.uk/open-platform/what-is-the-open-platform
The central problem with devices like the Kindle and other e-book readers is that they are a "closed system" -- they replicate "old media" with a pretty static reading experience locked inside a proprietary medium. You can't monetize content in the same way as you can by releasing it "into the wild" and syndicating your content, monetizing the online experience to expand ad inventory, or partnering with the world to help grow your platform. I think it will be more interesting to see where netbooks will take the next phase of publishing.
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