Hi smeardoss
First make sure the ethernet cable is good - so switch to a known working one.
1. check all 4 dip switches on the side are in the up position (assuming you have the lights on top)
2. when entering the ip - only use 172.16.42.1 (don't add the :1471)
3. are you using windows/linux? if you are using vbox/vmware exit this first and use your default os browser.
4. make sure your network config (windows/linux) show that the ethernet is connected.
5. if all fails try manually getting into the Pineapple. In linux open a terminal and enter the following - ssh root@172.16.42.1
it will then ask for your password. If all goes well you will be in the pineapple and you can configure it from a command line (ifconfig/airmon-ng/airodump-ng etc) I prefer the command line anyway as it lets me run scripts like wifite easiliy.
dont worry too much - I was a total beginner a few months ago and now i am really enjoying learning about this stuff. What I have found is that some things just plain do not work out of the box and require some tinkering.
Good luck and if you are not already, use Kali natively on your laptop - i have dual os's kali and windows 7. The bonus of having it natively instead of a virtual machine is that you can use the graphics card and accelerate cracking etc. Also things are recognised easily.