When you are waiting for a web site to load, just try hitting the stop on your browser bar and see if it loads. That may get you by.

Vista and XP have been orphaned, which could be the problem. The other possibility is malware. Run http://www.infospyware.com/antispyware/adwcleaner/ and see if that helps.
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I'm kind of a gossip hound, but watching the media whip the small fires into giant forest fires so that they can cover the result is infuriating.