tedster - 10:42 pm on Aug 17, 2010 (gmt 0)

Yes - the "replace" JavaScript method will preserve the back button function for your users. It's often a better choice because it REPLACES the original url in the browser's history, rather than adding a new url, which just throws the back button into loop-de-loop.

I dont see what I can do to make the images load any faster

Just make sure they're as compressed as they can be without degrading visually. In addition to choosing the optimal format, use Photoshop's "save for the web" function. It uses some awesome compression algorithms and you can often squeeze the file size a lot lower than you might think at first glance.