LinuxMCE still does require a lot of configuration and work to get things working... unless you buy pre-configured boxes... but then you'll have to configure all the other home automation devices...
At this point I would not (and don't) recommend LinuxMCE to the average user. I think it will get there, but it's just not there yet.
If you are willing to work at it, then LinuxMCE is an awesome system, though. And as someone else on the forum pointed out, that's part of it's appeal to some of us. He was joking when he said it, but it's true...