Going back on topic, regarding browsers.

I've got a Safari extension called ClickToFlash which blocks flash content with a plain white box. If you want to load the flash content you just click the box.

I've found it to be an absolute godsend in speeding up Safari browsing and the difference is quite noticeable. It was eBay's annoying ads ironically enough that forced me to look for a flash blocker as the whole site and pages can slow to a crawl whilst waiting for those darned flash ads to load. That little extension is a double whammy - it not only blocks those annoying and stupid ads it speeds everything up as well.

Flash was never implemented particularly well on Apples and if you can do without it completely, switching it off altogether is the way to go. You'll be surprised at how much faster everything loads.