New-Improved Kinder-Gentler Wireless Client Interface Widget

A full fledged, comprehensive, coherent, easy to use, intuitive wireless client that covers all aspects of home wireless - client, setting secure APs, monitoring, .... I think this a must and has been suggested more than once.

The feature set would be a superset of the currently available clients like Apple, Odyssey and Windows, done in "Ubuntu way". 8-year old kids should be able to operate it !

There are couple of dimensions - comprehensive user interface as well as technology/functionality (WPA2, one button configuration, automatic creation of strong paraphrases, key rotation, 802.11i, 802.1x,...)

We should make the UI very intuitive - judicious use of icons/colors - for example open and closed locks for secure and not-so-secure, color coded (bright red for open authC, light red for WEP and green for WPA2 et al)

The general functionalities include - show all APs, ability to select one, ability to type in the unpublished SSIDs, show connection strength et al.

New features could include show actual speed, do not connect to any available APs (but make sure the user is OK connecting to a unsecure one)

We go beyond the normal client feature set and should implement features that make it easy for home users to configure APs - for example the "one click" security configuration of APs (this involves generating strong phraphrases, key rotation et al)

We also should add monitoring and associated capabilities - show who all are connected, their bandwidth usage, ... A mini-IPS/IDS would be good as well.

P.S : the WPA-Supplicant and others have most of the required substrate. We will have to augment them as well as develop new stuff especially for the one-click set up