Hi millmoss. From my experience in PPT 2003, using the compression options (or not) has no impact on the output in Articulate. Keep in mind that anything above 96 dpi can't be seen on PC monitors anyway. This differs from the JPEG compression that is performed through Articulate.
I still believe that the bluriness we experience with published images--regardless of image format we use--is due to some quirks in the Powerpoint export engine. That is why inserted SWFs usually look better than inserted bitmaps...because the export engine is not being leveraged. But that's just a theory
Regarding Captivate and the double compression question you asked earlier, it doesn't happen. When you insert any SWF into Articulate, a copy of the file is created. In other words, the file is not modified in any way.
HTH,
Phil