Yes, definitely connected 24/7 through Pacbell DSL. No internet connection problems.
I posted an update on AVS Forum thread, forgot to post here. Sorry!
I finally got it to work by noting the steps that had to be taken while going through the CDDB registration on my desktop machine, then using those same steps, although working blind, on the laptop.
If you and the other CD software developers are paying a licensing fee to those Gracenote people, you might want to get them to look into this problem. Otherwise, none of you are getting your money's worth! I did a search on this forum for CDDB, and found all kinds of problems. It can't help your software sales when people can't get it to work. Many of them won't understand that it's not in your control.
THanks for your help, anyway! I'm glad I got it to work, and I am planning to register.