<snip>
> 2. Assuming I will be able to run TDE again, I am unable to get
> NetworkManager to work. I use
> nm-applet. I can add the wireless connection, but I am unable to store
> password (the field is
> always empty, despite me saving the password). Moreover, nm-applet doesn't
> list any wirelesss
> networks and when I choose to connect to hidden network and select my
> connection the "Connect"
> button is grayed out.

It looks like you might be affected by this Debian bug:
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=578587

Regarding the wireless problem, is your network device firmware configured
properly?  One way to tell is to run "ifconfig -a" and make sure a wlan0
entry shows up.  Other than that, I have noticed that nm-applet is not
exactly user-friendly; if one little field is not configured correctly it
won't enable the "Connect" or "Save" buttons, and it won't tell you what
you did wrong either.

Tim