Another Frustrating Day

This has been another long frustrating day.

I spent time on-line last night checking various stuff out. Decided I liked Dell's 13.3 laptop M1330. (I really like the comparable size Think Pad, but it's a bit out of my price range...). The best price I found for it was at Costco, so we headed in that direction this morning and picked one up (the last one they had there...).

I had asked Mike at the eSource store to download the data from my old computer unto a DVD, so checked to see how he was doing. At that point, he had backed up the data, but hadn't yet started to do the DVD, so we decided to just have him download the files to the new Dell.

We went to have lunch -- found a neat bakery/cafe -- then went over to Starbucks to restock our bean supply and have a leisurely frappachino. By the time we finished, Mike called and said he had trasferred all of the data. When we picked up the new machine, he kept commenting about it being a "sweet machine" and "fast!"

So to home, turned it on, loaded the software for our aircard -- and it didn't recognise it! Tried it again, no better. Called AT&T customer service; after 20 minutes or so of trying various things; transferred me to technical service. TS finally decided that the version of the software we had needed to be upgraded from the 6.1 to at least 6.5. Sent us to an AT&T retail store several miles away. Store guy uploaded the new software; tried to connect, it would immediately disconnect. Put in a new SIM card. Same problem. Called technical service again; store guy talked to them; they tried a couple of things; still no connect. TS decided that it must be the aircard; of course it was out of warranty; trasferred us to AT&T Care; they decided we were eligible for an upgrade and they could ship us a new aircard for $199.

Store had them on special for $100 with a mail-in rebate of $100 (I know, doesn't make a lot of sense...). Store guy said he had been having trouble connecting to the internet (we were only getting 1-2 bars) and thought maybe it was the system. Decided we would wait until morning to buy a new aircard and make sure it wasn't the system.

Came home; had 5 bars; tried it again; still immediately disconnected. Tried it back in Forrys computer -- voila, it works!

Not sure where we go next. I think I'll call Dell's Technical Assistance in the morning..