A php script that combines and compresses jscript and css include files

Hmm. I'm surprised that actually sped up the page load times. It sounds like most of the overhead is in the multiple calls between client and server. Adding yet more work in the form of decompression and compression seems to increase that overhead. Although it likely saves a lot of bandwidth, I generally don't consider CSS files bandwidth intensive.

I agree Eric, especially in ajax-based sites where the page may only load once -

I seem to remember using one of the javascript rich-text editors on an app I managed and the gzip version did load quicker -

I try an avoid monumental screen refreshes wherever I can now so this is less of an issue for me.