I guess what I'd really like to see is something akin to how "dumb" switches work. You plug them together and they automatically sort out the network topology and packets "magically" get where they're going. This doesn't scale well to giant corporations, but it's perfect for home networks. The challenge is to do this in a zero-config way for the generic consumer.

As TonyC points out, there's a security problem in making it too easy, namely that it now becomes too easy to blow your security perimeter. There are no lack of ways to address that. Maybe NFC wireless is the way to to go (e.g., just tap them together and they'll pair using short-range radio; for extra zing, use an accelerometer so you don't even need buttons).

Once paired, everything else should "just work." If you have to launch a web browser and connect to a goofy IP address, or if you have to run a proprietary configuration tool (Apple Airport), then that's already too hard for too many users.

Maybe I'm just dreaming here, but if my ex-roommate, who's a perfectly competent computer user, can't suss this out properly on his own, then there must be a ton of people who are in even worse shape.