<p>Is there a way to spawn a new window via javascript in IE7 that hides the statusbar?</p>

<p>I've added the intranet app as a trusted site. Not sure what else I can use to try. This is my JS</p>

<pre><code>window.open("http:/localhost/start.html", "MyApp", "left=0, top=0, width=" + screen.width + "," +
                              "height=" + screen.height + ", scrollbars=yes, " + 
                              "resizable=yes, location=no, menubar=no, titlebar=no, " + "toolbar=no, status=no");
</code></pre>

Your code worked for me,
and here's a screenshot.
Example of how IE7 renders popup without status bar. http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/7757/workshq7.th.png
Note that experment was done on local filesystem, with "Protected Mode" completly turned off. If it didn't work for you, my guess is that your security settings is somehow still to high. Tinkering with the browser UI trough JavaScript is usually blocked for security reasons and should not be relied on.