I've been through a couple of desktops before deciding on kde. However under gnome it was easy to add applications to startup immediately. I have an hp tc1100 tablet pc (one before the ipad craze an actual computer) I'm trying to add cellwriter to startup. Without it starting up I have no imput method when not docked.

Google search and search on linux mint provided mixed methods. (usually for older versions) Thought I'd ask after 1 hour of searching fruitlessly!

Thanks
and linux is looking like a great os and kde for custom workspaces!

In System Settings there is an Option "Startup and Shutdown" (note I'm on KDE 4.5.3 and not Mint so it may be slightly different for you). It has an option "Autostart". You can add an app or script there and it will start with KDE.
However that is after you log in and I'm not sure from your question that is what you need. If you need it to start up when the computer starts maybe someone with Mint can give you a better answer.

Thanks- I looked and looked. I was looking for some kind of startup manager. Finally found it under advanced tab. Not seeing things like that makes me feel silly, however, I'm also relieved and thankful for the simple help.

Now to start changing some code with xbindkeys- this I hope will go as well as it did in gnome.

you can also put it in your .kde4/Autostart or .kde/Autostart directory (depending on the distribution).