AIStart

AIStart is a simple application that will let you create a new Illustrator document with some startup settings.  Choose File > Save to save your startup settings so that you can create a new Illustrator document right away when you launch AIStart again.

There is no question that Adobe Illustrator is a great product.  We use it every time we design an application icon before a new software release.  It's just that I hate it to enable the ruler and the grids every time I open a new document.

Note that AIStart has been tested with Adobe Illustrator CS3 only.  There is no guarantee it will run properly with other versions.