No, now I'm pretty convinced that the problem is the wireless network card in the new laptop. My wife was ready to throw the laptop against the wall (or at me) last night for all the frustration she had during the day with slow/dropped connections (on any channel). I have a house full of WiFi gear and everything is connecting, even as I change router channels, except this one unit.

I've patched it for the time being by running the WPC11 adapter in the new laptop, but the computer is going back to Staples tomorrow. If they have another of the same model for me to try I'll bring it home; otherwise I'll get my money back and try again when we get home from Italy.