I think altcoins has a purpose, if absolutely nothing else then as experiments to see what works for society. Even if they are mere clones at this point, the can be modified and evolve, and thus free their bigger brothers from potential devestating trials.
I wrote a bit about Feathercoin today in this article:
http://coin.furuknap.net/feathercoin-theres-a-new-kid-on-the-block/