Soapbox time? - Nah...

Actually the apparent speed of the BB is effected not only by "loading up the perl software then interpreting and a executing the code each time a button of any sort is pressed", yet by the combination of the following (Not limited to but including):

1) The server being contacted,
2) The script - or in this case the perl software load/interpretation
3) The Internet Service Providers used in the path from the user's computer to the host that one is trying to load information from,
4) The Internet itself,
5) Not to mention, the modem that the user is using to connect to the "Internet".

In the first case, if the server being contacted in not a very powerful server (recall a server can be anything from an 8086 based PC to a Mainframe Computer), or overloaded with requests (like ebay's servers...) the amount of time a request is served can be "long".
Also if the server is under-powered, AND is a host of an image file, then it can take a LOOONNNGGGG time to transfer the data from the server to the users computer.

In the second case, the script being interpreted if not written efficiently can slow down the service request time - yet this is small in comparison to the other cases.
I should point out that the script Greg is using seems well written, since after all it is Version 3.21... <VBG>

In the third case, the Internet service providers have a limited number of incoming lines/modems. Some even have a mix of modems, fast and slow modems. When one connects to a 14.4 k modem, even though their computer has a 56.6 k modem, the fastest data transfer will be at the 14.4 k (in the best case). Additionally, these service providers have a limited connection to the Internet. If they have most or all of their incoming modems in use, depending on the information that all these modems are requesting, there still is only a "single" connection to the Internet. Think of it as a 50 to 100 streets all trying to get into a one-lane tunnel. Things can stack-up...

In the fourth case, depending on the time of the day one "gets on the Internet"; there may be a few other users, or many millions of users. Think of the Internet as a highway (no pun intended...), the more cars on the highway the longer it takes to get anywhere...

In the last case, the modem being used on the users end may be slow - thus loading anything can take a long time - not everyone has a cable modem like a Limostud we all know and love!!! <VBG>

Thus if one looks at all the factors, it is easily seen that there can be times when it seems like the WWW really stands for World Wide Wait!!!

Just my two cents...

Dick