Are cookbooks a thing of the past?

Recently I had some guests over my apartment and as they are also cooking enthusiasts, I decided to show off my very large collection of cookbooks. I was mocked that I had so many and was told that cookbooks aren't needed any more- "there's the internet." I decided to go to the book store and see if that was true.
Over the weekend I spent a few hours at the local book store to see the cooking magazine headlines and to check out the latest wave of cookbooks... I found that I was bored with the predictability of cooking magazine headlines... Spring cooking, Grilling, Cinco de Mayo & Taco headlined magazines galore, and cupcakes... apparently they are still the "in" thing. It was difficult to find a magazine even worthy for me to take a second glance. If I found 1 or 2 tips I didn't already know about- that was saying something.
Then I checked out the cookbooks. I would say that most of the cookbooks I saw were duds, except 2 that I noticed right before I was going to leave. One I would have purchased immediately- but upon closer inspection, all the recipes could be found on the internet... There was only 1 book (and I really didn't get too much time to study it) that really grabbed my attention as possibly being worthy enough to add to my collection... but it remains to be seen... :P
As I drove away empty handed I realized that if a cookbook is well put together and contains MANY recipes that appeal to a person, then yes-- it's worth it. You're paying for the convenience to reference something very quickly without having to rely on the internet. But, I felt pretty dismal about the outlook on physical cookbooks... When I finally got home I sat in the parking lot and thought about the cookbooks I have. I purchased a lot of basic cookbooks when I was starting out... I bought a lot of cupcake cookbooks to give me a lot of ideas when I had to bake a wedding cake for a friend, I bought a lot of ice cream cookbooks when I got my ice cream maker... And that made me realize that not all of them were a waste of space. For a novice, a cookbook like How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman may be a good choice- that's what I would give someone... If someone was a garlic lover, I'd give them The Stinking Rose cookbook coming out of the San Fransisco restaurant that contains the non-traditional combination of garlic ice cream and caramel. VERY YUMMY! So, I realized that people may rely on cookbooks less. I certainly left empty handed when I left the store... but there will always be a time, place, and reason why we still buy them. All that information is out there... but cookbooks give you the convenience of that knowledge on your bookshelf.