Following up from yesterday... the Roadrunner tech guy finally showed up at 7 tonight and replaced the modem which does indeed seem to have drastically improved things. I was able to download all the software updates. Getting the OS current does seem to have enabled Safari to actually work. So far, so good.
Also good: a nifty haul of new wrrld music into XDU, inc. new CDs from Los de Abajo, Shrift, Apollo Nove. And, most especially, Congotronics 2. w00t! double, in fact...