We wore out our yogurt maker and haven't replaced it - yet. My favorite yogurt (Oikos by Stonyfield) is pricy, so investing in the yogurt maker would be worth it.
Not hard to make. Milk and culture (you can use a plain yogurt that has live cultures in it). That's it! After the first batch, you can use your own yogurt as the starter. Now and again you'll need to buy some from the store; it seems that the cultures from home made don't last forever.