nothing out if the ordinary.
a single 2mpbs dsl -> wifi router -> laptop.
no funny stuff like proxies or firewalls. save the stuff built into the router.
i remember seeing the same/similar issue with the beta. it wasn't until i checked the 'show preview version' box that it downloaded correctly. i'll try unchecking it tonight to see if that helps.
i also downloaded the impulse beta last night (v.nice) and tried from there. it appeared to download the files and install them but when i launched the game it still had the beta version number, so i presume still the beat game.
SIDE NOTE:
Impulse also showed updates for SoaSE (1.4.25 i think) and GalCiv:DA which didn't show up in SD. I installed the SoaSE fine but again unsure if it's impulse playing tricks.
let me know if there's any more specific info you'd like.
MrL