I assume you're on some sort of 10GB multi-core machine as most Java users have to be on, in which case: 12 sec startup is ridiculously slow. Even on 2GB x64 dual-core, that's still very, very slow.
just to throw some numbers in. out of curiosity i have done a fresh install of eclipse on an 2GB, 3ghz, dual core, x86, windows xp sp3.
starting up and opening an empty project takes about 4 sec with eclipse. in comparison visual d (plugin for visual studio shell 2008) starts immediately without any noticeable delay.
