Well, you do it your way, I'll do it mine. I can't believe that an IT pro wouldn't look for this first thing when tackling a startup issue. Yes, if you start up 10 apps, it's going to slow things down. If you start up your email client, not such a big deal. This is a common enough practice that it shouldn't cause any of your experts a problem. If users are going to open their email client as soon as they can, every morning, any way, why not save them a few extra clicks? They're all out getting their first cup of coffee while the system boots anyway. I think you're making much ado about nothing.