Now I have my new PC up and running it of-course comes with NetworkManager, which I've always avoided in the past but maybe it's improved?
My problem is that it seems inflexible and buggy; I just got into a right old mess by not making sure I had "disconnected" my LAN before making some changes (result: NM reporting that I'm connected using a configuration that no longer exists, and refusing to connect to my new one even though it said it was).
On the other hand, having a GUI interface to LAN/WLAN/VPN/etc would be nice and I'd prefer to make it work if it can be done.
So, ditch it or keep it?