Here's how I configure switches out of the box, 2950's, 3500's, whatever:
1) connect the console cable to the switch and put it in my serial port on my PC.
2) use hyperterminal or whatever to connect to it.
3) type in "setup" from the command prompt
4) enter the ip and other relevant stuff.
5) then you can just telnet into it or if you have web brower software you can enter the ip address into the brower.