Startup time should not be confused with performance
I start up Firefox rarely, with the same instance running for days or weeks on end, and I use Firebug all of the time to check on pages my sites generate. If it takes a few seconds longer to start up, then I don't notice it. It can't be as slow as the Java behemoths like OpenOffice or Eclipse.
Performance, on the other hand, such as whether it renders pages, runs scripts and handles DOM manipulations promptly, is important to me.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
