Since that was my page you linked to, lemme see if I can clear a few things up:
D&D Insider/Rules Database will give access to all the rules from every book. However, whether you're a D&DI subscriber or not you can buy PDF books just as you can now (though he said they'd be cheaper.)
And as far as the "no minis" thing in the basic set, the list does include Tokens, which is what I assume the replacement for minis will be. (2D cardboard or something with pictures on them.)