Currently I'm scoping out a few alternatives. My money's on NukeDK at the moment. I've used stuff from them in the past and although some of their stuff is difficult to pick up, once you get your head round it it's very powerful.

I've also used XMod in the past but I cannot and will not store data as XML - it's just not scalable in my opinion.

I want a product that can select from any DNN or non-DNN table, create any type of form, and update the DB.

I think DNN itself has matured to such a degree that people who use it should demand more from 3rd party developers to be as good and preferably better.

MS just released AJAX 1.0 so I'm hoping for some great tools to come out soon.

I think a lot of the problem is expectation from the user - but ultimately the most user-friendly products will succeed.