I've read a lot of the work that everyone has been doing here but have comprehended very little of it. I know there are a lot of others like me out there, so I'm starting the notMac Challenge to encourage the development of an easy-to-use replacement for Apple's dotMac service.
Inspired by the success of the XP on Mac challenge, I've developed my own competition to encourage developers to make the tools for creating a dotMac substitute accessible to the vast majority of Mac users who are uncomfortable using Terminal and running Perl scripts. Other Mac users interested in a free alternative to dotMac are invited to contribute to the prize pool, and as additional incentive, I'll match the first $10,000.
Please check out my website, http://www.notmacchallenge.com, make a contribution or submit a solution. Also, spread the word. The more people who see the site, the more people will contribute and the quicker someone will come up with a solution that will save a lot of us $99 a year on dotMac membership.