*NOTE: the following is proposed to be a "Simple View" version of network manager. There will be a button to change to advanced (Current) network manager. Please don't vote this down because you prefer the current way - this is an alternative, not a replacement!
Ubuntu's goal is to be a "Linux for Human Beings" and be easy to use. However, many of its programs are not as easy to use as the leading operating systems. However, one place where all operating systems are hard to set up is networking. However, there is a way to fix that.
As most people are visual thinkers, the networking preferences app should have a interactive map of the network. It shows the computer underneath which there is a box labeled "Shared" (containing icons for shared printers and folders), and a box named "Local" which shows icons for printers that are not shared. The computer itself is connected to a box labeled by the wireless SSID. In that box, there is a visual display of each of the different workgroups/domains that exist. There should be a line connecting the Shared folder box to whichever network it is connected to. A line from the big wireless box with the SSID is connected to a icon that symbolizes the internet. A user can click on specific areas of this map to zoom in an change settings.
Clicking on the computer would zoom in on to it. (A zoom out button appears). From here, the user would be able to change the host name, and edit his sharing preferences.
Clicking on the big wireless box would zoom in to the box. The box's label would change into a dropdown list and offer choices for which network to connect to. From here you could:
Double Click a workgroup/domain to connect to it.
Single Click on a workgroup/domain to expand it and show the IPs/hostnames that are connected to it.
This map would make it much easier to do common networking tasks, and also make the user sure of exactly what they are doing.
I don't know exactly how ssh works, but that could also be implemented in the map.
ONCE AGAIN, this is an ALTERNATIVE, not a replacement.
