1 & 2 are viable.
As for 3... well. I don’t think a dedicated desktop tool is likely as it is a niche requirement and people use different OSes.
However, what *could* be done would be to have a folder in MODx FTP like the import / export folders, called "externalsync" or somesuch. Something could be written in MODx along the lines of the Import Site function which would save out files or update the db with file content as required. All Dreamweaver would have to do is sync with an FTP folder, which I’m fairly certain it can do.
VB.NET could handle the download/upload.
For publish, the best thing to do would be to have a PHP page that could be triggered as a simple URL request by VB.NET - which basically means passing through some sort of authentication at the same time.
And yes, the Packt announcement’s out - we didn’t make the cut. The thanks in my sig still stands to everyone that helped us try.
For disussion on that:
http://modxcms.com/forums/index.php/topic,5974.msg48504.html#msg48504