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I was initially skeptical, but these sharpening systems come highly regarded. Priced approximately $80-150 I believe.
http://www.chefschoice.com/page2a.html
They have different models, the one I am looking at has 3 passes...1) grinding stone 2) diamond hone 3) very fine diamond hone. Apparently it gives a very sharp edge in about 30 secs with no training. Over a lifetime, it will pay itself off easily. I have not purchased one yet, so I do not have any first-hand experience. I have read so many bad experiences of people having their knives "professionally sharpened" - that is why I was looking for alternative methods.
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The Chef’s Choice sharpeners are OK but it is difficult to keep certain blades flat against the holder. The other issue with the CC system is that the grind angle is fixed at 33 degrees which is OK for most chef’s/utility knives. Shuns and certain other Japanese knives use a blade grind of 22 degrees so if you use a CC on one if these you’ll ruin it. In addition Gratons (slicers) and boning knives usually have a shallower grind.