Hi Stu,

re: "..most people are not interested in using the CLI, and teaching them to do so is the wrong approach..."

It may be the wrong approach but there is no one single unified way to do things via the GUI. Fact.

Even within the Ubuntu family common tasks like copying files, adding printers, adding packages are all in different locations. 
 Ubuntu GNOME - Ubuntu with the GNOME desktop environment 
 Kubuntu - Ubuntu with the K Desktop environment
 Lubuntu - Ubuntu that uses LXDE
 Mythbuntu - Designed for creating a home theatre PC with MythTV
 Ubuntu Studio - Designed for multimedia editing and creation
 Xubuntu - Ubuntu with the XFCE desktop environment

Were Ubuntu/Canonical actually serious about this vision, then a lot more work would be paid to pushing common methods of doing things in the GUI to the Free Desktop or some other upstream project. Taking care of the translation and accessibility support as you go.

Right now when a friend asks how to do something and they need it done urgently, the only common way we have to *help* them is to do so in the command line.

Ken.