I can't fathom not using rechargeable batteries anymore. Ignoring that my cell phone, laptop, car and digital camera all rely on rechargeable batteries, my work involves lots of small electronics put out into the field to college environmental data (light, temperature, trigger-cameras, etc). Most take AAA or AA batteries and will last 1-3 days before the batteries are depleted. We keep roughly two-dozen rechargeable batteries that we constantly cycle in and out our various devices. If we used single-use alkalines we'd burn through several hundred per year (literally). It's really a no-brainer for us.
We 'retire' our rechargables after 2 field seasons... they seem to hold maybe 70-80% of their charge by then, and have probably been through over 100 cycles (though we've never kept close tabs on the number of cycles). Old lab rechargables now sit in my tv remote still work just fine. Every so often a quick trip in the charger keeps it them operating.
... but seriously; think of all the things that natively run on rechargeable batteries - cell phones, car batteries, laptops, iPods, cameras, etc... why would you doubt that they work?