FWIW the aeropress is a very good alternative to french presses, significantly simpler cleaning (just pop the coffee plug in the compost/trash and rinse the components), almost no fines (if you use paper filters). Though the rest of the operations (grinding coffee, pouring boiling water in the press and pressing down) are the same.
Not very familiar, no. I have seen them, my grandmother used to have one -- but I don't think I ever used it myself.
Many people here (who try to resist the Nespresso tsunami) use a thing that I just found out is called a "French press":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press
or for a better picture:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/bodum-chambord-34-ounce-french...
It's quite popular and makes decent coffee (my wife uses one) but it's still more complex than pressing the button on a Nespresso!