I installed Etch on a Acer Aspire 5003WLMi laptop after having used Sarge for a few months.

Basically, the installation worked like a charm, except that you have to boot with "linux vga=771" rather than "linux". The installer recognized the WiFi card, but didn't install the firmware.

The package bcm43xx-fwcutter is required for the wireless network card. If the wl_aptsa.o file is not found, this is my workaround: http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=18303

Also, the wired network card needs to plugged in at boot to work, for some odd reason. I'll update this file if I can fix that.

Until then, good luck.