A lot of the author's hatred for the Kindle seems to have an irrational and subjective basis. The author is clearly non-technical (referring to his sons as his IT support). Perhaps that's a factor in his experience.
> 1. You can’t safely spill sunscreen or wine on an electronic device, or get sand in it, or leave it out in bright sunshine.
I have a Sony PRS-300 that I take on holiday. I also have an iPad but don't like reading books on it due to the backlit screen and weight. I've taken the Sony to the beach (and had sand on it, and left it in bright sunshine) and it was fine.
> 2. You can’t share books on a device. I can’t even get e-books I bought on one device onto another device I own
For DRM'd books this is the case but you can't share physical books in the way he's referring to, you'd still have to pass the physical object to another person. In this respect Kindles and their ilk aren't really that different from 'paperware'. On the other hand it is possible to share books between devices if they're not DRM'd, and there are many sources of non-DRM books.
> 3. They could do the same to the second hand book market
Then the second hand book market will need to adapt to survive. If there is sufficient demand for second hand books then that market will thrive. If not, then it won't.
> 4. You can’t cut and paste quotes from an e-book.
Not true. On the kindle the My Clippings.txt file can contain your book clippings. Most readers support some form of annotation or clipping, or at the least copy and paste.
> 5. How are you supposed to refer others to specific pages of the text – in a footnote for example, or in a review?
However did people do this when different editions of books came out? Pages often change between editions.
> 6. I particularly hate the Kindle. This is a personal thing
This is particularly clear, and I think the author's basis is highly irrational, and hate is probably the correct term. I doubt that addressing his concerns would alleviate his hatred of the Kindle, in fact I would believe that he'd only try to come up with new things to hate.
I don't personally see the Kindle (or readers in general) bringing about the end of print publishing, but I do think there's a space for the market, much as there is with MP3s and other forms of media. Since buying my Sony I've read much more than I normally do, although to be fair mainly on holiday rather than on the train for example.