Well, there’s barefoot and then there’s functionally barefoot. A shoe that has minimal construction and doesn’t alter stride significantly is often referred to as a minimalist shoe and technically they are as they are significantly more minimalist than typical modern running shoes with multi density EVA midsoles, medial posting, shanks, straight lasts. My favorite quote from the runblogger article I posted in reference to the spectrum of minimalism in shoes: “The Brooks Beast is more minimalist than a ski boot.” 
However, it helps to understand that the Brooks Beast so significantly alters natual biomechanics that it can hardly be seriously referred to as a “minimalist shoe.”
On the one hand, you have minimalist-type shoes that actually do include support that is intended alter biomechanics such as the new Brooks Pure Cadence a 4mm drop shoe with pronation control built in and. On the other, you’ve got the Newton Distance with a 30mm tall heel but a very low heel-toe offset (2mm) that can hardly be called minimalist. However, both shoes promote natural footstrike which differs significantly from what the big players have been producing in the last 20 years since Nike and Asics redefined the market.
Clearly, shoe manufacturers are starting to recognize the value of a natural foot strike as several recent studies have demonstrated a fore/mid foot strike is more efficient and less brutal on the body. At the very least, with the success of Vibram FiveFingers, Nike et al. have recognized the lucrativeness of getting in on an emerging market with few players currently on the field.
As demonstrated by the vast spectrum of the still barely defined minimalist shoe market there are many approaches in shoe design to achieving natural stride compatibility. There are some cutting edge designs, like the FiveFingers and more traditional models that incorporate some of the features consumers have come to expect to see, such as medial posting*, but are different enough to allow interested runners to adapt their running style to something potentially more beneficial.
What approach wins out remains to be seen.
*IMHO, medial posting in a shoe that is supposed to promote natural stride is stupid. Pronation control is the antithesis to natural stride and only became “necessary” because the beefy shoes of the last 20 years have been promoting a heel strike that resulted in excessive ankle rotation. Forefoot landing greatly reduces torque in the ankles, knees, and hips and over-pronation is practically non-existent in conditioned barefoot runners.