First, I'd just like to say that pricing is not the "fault" of ebooks. If savvy companies figure out how to rip off authors through sales of ebooks, that's not to say that ebooks aren't a superior book/technology. Think of it this way. Back when color tv was first invented, if the big box retailers worked out a deal to pay tv manufacturers only pennies over cost for the new sets, yet continued to pay a good markup for black and white, that does NOT mean we as consumers should just decide to use black and white forever and ever. When it comes to ebooks, the pricing will figure itself out. Maybe a few publishers/retailers/authors will go bankrupt in the process, but some growing pains can't be helped.

Second. . .I guess the standards thing is a big deal, but I've never cared. It's so easy to convert any format to any other that I don't give formats much thought. The legal issues are gray (something like it's legal to make a backup for your own personal use, but it's illegal to break copy protection encryption? I don't know how that would ever hold up in court, but I suppose it might have at some point), so I ignore them. I really can't imagine you'd ever get prosecuted for buying a book legally, and converting the format to something you can read on your device.