[david in germany]

I am irritated with not being able to do things that should be simple with my BMW and dealing with dealers that say "no sorry, can't be done"
I took a leap of faith and grabbed a ICOM hardware set pretty cheap and now am piecing the computer and software together.
Is anyone here running ICOM/ISTA?
What have you come across as challenges that you would have done differently when you set up your system?
Would you favor a laptop or a desktop?
Where did you end up obtaining your software?

My plan is to assist other BMW owners as I can once I gained a bit of experience.
I know it is a lot of questions but maybe it will make others aware of challenges along the way.

Thanks!!
David