Ever since I upgraded to OS X Tiger (10.4) my web browsing has had a really irritating delay when I use my PowerBook at home.  I never really noticed it when I would connect to other networks as I traveled.  I tried all the tricks out there; run my own DNS server, use Verizon’s name servers (4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2), etc. which only seemed to provide short term gains.

Yesterday Apple released 104.8 to update various issues, but this one caught my attention…

“Resolves performance issues that could occur when connecting to a Comcast network.”

Hang on, I use a Comcast network at home.  So I upgraded to 10.4.8 and the difference in my web browsing is noticeable.  The problem for me was never how fast the web pages downloaded, it was always how long it took to actually look up the web page I was trying to get to.  Now the “looking up…” piece is immediate and web browsing is back to where I expect it and where my last remaining WindowsXP box performs.

Thanks for the update Apple.  That was the only issue I had with using my PowerBook.  Nice job.