I wrote a very small script to set static IPs on a kubuntu box.

#!/bin/bash
if [ $# -lt 4 ]
then
    echo "Usage: $0 <interface> <ip> <netmask> <gateway> <dns1>"
exit
fi
ifconfig $1 $2 netmask $3
echo "Static IP set"
route add default gw $4
echo "Routes added"
if [ "$5" != "" ]
then
    echo "nameserver $5" >>/etc/resolv.conf
fi
echo "DNS set"