The update actually made it worse. So, assuming Apple had noticed this problem, I updated to 10.9.2. I restart after installation of the update. Right off the bat, the internet does not work. So I have to restart. I open a few webpages and the internet begins to load them, then cuts off. I open up terminal and ping my router. I get this:
PING 192.168.1.254 (192.168.1.254): 56 data bytes
...
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=148 ttl=255 time=2.278 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=149 ttl=255 time=2.027 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=150 ttl=255 time=2.409 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=151 ttl=255 time=1.898 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=152 ttl=255 time=1.676 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=153 ttl=255 time=2.028 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=154 ttl=255 time=1.922 ms
...
Looks normal. Then I open up chrome and try to open a webpage. And the page fails to load so I check Terminal's ping.
...
Request timeout for icmp_seq 242
Request timeout for icmp_seq 243
Request timeout for icmp_seq 244
Request timeout for icmp_seq 245
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=198 ttl=255 time=48976.523 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=199 ttl=255 time=47975.854 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=200 ttl=255 time=46974.798 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=201 ttl=255 time=45973.968 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=202 ttl=255 time=44973.817 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.254: icmp_seq=203 ttl=255 time=43973.641 ms
... (and so on)
Then I quit chrome. Everything looks normal again with the ping speeds. Then I try loading Google.com in Safari. Same effect: when I try to load a page, the ping speeds just inflate. And when I quit Safari, everything goes back to normal.
I tried this multiple times; there is definitely a correlation between my loading a webpage and the ping speeds when my internet connection "drops".
NOTE: This dropping of the internet connection only happens every so often while loading a webpage. Other times, though, my internet speeds and pings are normal and I can browse normally. Every thirty minutes or so, though, the above incident happens and I have to restart my computer to get the internet working again.
Please tell me that Apple is working on a permanent fix. Seriously.