I would (respectfully) challenge this idea. :) I'm not certain adding more complexity (which comes with the more powerful solutions you've suggested) will help

I would (respectfully) challenge this idea. :) I'm not certain adding more complexity (which comes with the more powerful solutions you've suggested) will help things right now. Cron is such a basic tool, it really shouldn't be causing any problems. I think fixing the underlying problems in the scripts themselves is important to do first. Just my two cents though!