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Oops, s/StartFileEx()/ShellExecuteEx()/

Paul: What are we actually trying to do here?  1) Open
arbitrary files (possibly by means of a URL) using the
method that the desktop user has configured his desktop /
OS?  Or 2) open arbitrary URLs in the web browser he has
configured (possibly making use of GUI components embedded
in the browser)?  Or 3) something else?

If 1) (which is what I had gathered from your initial
comment and the c.l.py thread you referenced), then I guess
ShellExecute (os.startfile) is right, as is kfmclient exec,
and we just have to accept there are security implications
that need to be borne in mind and acted upon appropriately
(I'm not certain what that entails).  Are there really major
security differences between kfmclient exec and ShellExecute
here?

If 2). then it seems that we're doing two different things
on the two different desktops we're talking about: kfmclient
has openUrl, but ShellExecute doesn't have any equivalent (I
assume the "explore" verb always lands you in IE / Windows
Explorer, never firefox, for example).  Perhaps unavoidable,
but weakens the case for the module.