I use software that involves a lot of outbound and inbound connections. The issue I'm experiencing is strikingly similar to the old EventID 4226 when XP SP2 was released, but I'm noticing nothing in the event viewer. I digress...
I play poker online. I generally play 10-12 tables simultaneously. I'm not entirely certain of the software architecture, but I believe it operates over Port 80. For whatever sets of reasons, after about 1/2 hour of playing on Vista, my connection drops. Live Messenger disconnects, all of my tables disconnect, all connections seem to "hiccup" for approximately 15-30 seconds.
I run the exact same configuration on XP and I never have this problem. It happens with 100% consistency on Vista Ultimate. The only variable is when it will happen. This is a deal-breaker for me, otherwise I'd take the leap into Vista as everything else seems at least reasonably stable. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem and/or have a resolution?

I have seen many similar problems with Vista: it is unable to maintain stable connections to streaming internet data under many circumstances where XP computers using the same internet connection have no problems maintaining stable connections to the same sources. It is a Vista defect which, like most Vista defects, strikes for unknown reasons for users having common hardware/software configurations. If you have the problem, as some Vista users claim all is perfect in their corner of the universe, it occurs with all media players, Windows Media Player is actually worse than Itunes, and can be a problem during long file transfers. I have seen several suggestions of possible causes including the firewall and problems with Vista caching. One web site suggested making sure certain ports were open in the firewall but this does not help. Opening those ports does not subject your computer to outside attack but it does not improve Vista performance either. For security reasons I would not pursue these strategies but it sounds like you enjoy gambling . . . A recent Microsoft update is said to address caching problems but this makes no difference. The best solution is simply to use XP until Microsoft releases a usable version of Vista disguised as a service pack.

That's what I'm gathering. Thanks for the reply. It's just incredibly unfortunate. There are a number of other applications that I use that require a significant number of incoming/outgoing connections. This is just something I can't overcome/accept until/unless there's a solution. Looks like XP SP2 for the foreseeable future.
"babaloo"