SlimBrowser catches the window in a new tab whereas plain IE (6.0.2800.110615) just flashes it before displaying the normal download dialog. SB is still using the core IE components so I don't think it's an IE thing in particular. I'm running Windows 2000 Professional though. If you have XP SP2's built in popup blocker turned off then something else weird is going on so the script isn't running properly. If you're curious, you might try adding the site to your trusted zone and see what happens. For me, regular direct download links work the same in IE and SB. Links behind buttons, Flash menus etc. (including freestuff here) will usually trap the download page and open it in a new tab. I assume this is a quirk with SB since it apparently doesn't happen with Firefox's tabs. As I said, I actually like the effect since I can get the real location of those files.

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken