Linux network configuration

Why it is so difficult to get the networking working under Linux? I mean, it’s not difficult to me but it is to my girlfriend without super user permissions and without typing commands on the terminal. Why Linux doesn’t have a easy graphical user interface to define new networks or choose the one you want to use?

There is, for example, the NetworkManager tool which is amazing: it discovers new networks, auto-configure the network cards, keeps track of used networks. It is wonderful, but it doesn’t work. Gnome has its networking configuration menu, but it needs super user permissions. Debian uses the /etc/network/interfaces file to configure the network, but what happen if the access point is down while my laptop boots? Nothing, because the wireless network can’t get an address from the dhcp server.

Why is everything that complex to use? Why everything just sucks when you need it?

In my opinion it should work as follow:

1. If there is an active and working connection, the system must be aware of it, check if it already knows this network configuration and, if it doesn’t know this network configuration, it must ask to the user if he or she wants to save current network configuration.
2. If there is not any active working connection, the system must try among the previously saved network configuration if there is any working configuration and, in that case, it must ask the user if he or she wants to use one of the working configuration.
3. If there is not any active working connection and the system can’t find any working configuration among the previously saved one, the system should search for any working connection (searching among the wireless connections present, trying to discover any dchp server, …) and if it finds any working connection, it asks the user if he or she wants to use it and add it to the known configurations.

The system must give the possibility to choose between the profiles even if the user doesn’t have administrator privileges.

If anything that could bring new network connections happen(for instance a cable is plugged or a wireless network interface is connected to the system), the system should check if new connections are available and in that case, it should notify the user and ask if he or she wants to change the network configuration.