The future is digital, but what format, what 'standard' if any... who knows?
I think another question that needs to be asked is what storage medium will stand the test of time. A photographic negative will always be able to be used. With digital, you not only have to ask which medium won't deteriorate over time (I've lost family photos on a not-so-old Zip disk), but which medium will still have the hardware necessary to retrieve the data? (Anyone still using a Bernoulli drive?). CD-Rs, from what I've read, have a finite lifespan. It's sounding like anyone storing their photos digitally will need to engage in a maintenance program, transferring images as media deteriorate and as technology marches forward, leaving formats behind.