Supplement to Our Brief Hands-On Report--Apple Broadband Tuner 1.0

We posted an initial hands-on note on Apple's Broadband Tuner 1.0 while we were on travel with our PowerBook G4 and using a hotel DSL connection. We reported that tests with four runs each indicated a modest average increase in download speed after installing it. Subsequently, Apple revised its article to note that it applied specifically to FiOS-based internet connections.

When we returned from travel, we installed Broadband Tuner 1.0 on our Power Mac G5 Quad hooked up to a 4-6Mbps Cox cable internet connection. Our download speed tested out at just 10% of the speed before we installed Broadband Tuner 1.0. Further testing with our PowerBook G4 on the same internet connection produced identically poor results. We used Broadband Tuner's installer to uninstall it and our download speed once again increased to its normal speed.

We don't know if our hotel located in Northern Virginia actually had a FiOS-based internet connection but perhaps. Now that Apple has clarified the specific type of connection that Broadband Tuner 1.0 is designed for, we strongly recmmend you not install it or uninstall it if you are not on the targeted type of network. [Bill Fox]