You're correct... some comments...

1) KiX OLE under Win9x is broken. If you do some further testing - you'll probably find that this statement...

$doc = val("&" + olegetproperty($ie, "document"))

Is returning a "0" on Win9x - It's definitely a KiX problem and not an OLE / IE / WIN problem. Bryce and I tested this same code using VBScript on Win9x and it works fine !

2) Stick with at least NTsp3 and IEsp2 or later for any of this OLE stuff.

3) The delay in starting IE shouldn't be any longer than what it would take to noramally start your browser on your workstation - it might even be a "shade" faster because it doesn't have to navigate to a "real" start page...

4) I admire your willingness and success in implementing innovative script ideas !

Shawn.