If you want to code directly, then I don't think JCE or other 3rd party wysiwyg editor is needed just for the ability to include code without it being stripped.
On 1.5x you can change the HTML filter to allow pretty much anything.
reference...
http://docs.joomla.org/Why_does_some_HTM…ersion_1.5.8%3F
and...
http://docs.joomla.org/Screen.content.15…ions_.28HTML.29
I tested it out a long time ago and I am pretty sure that if you remove the filter from the superadmin... then it allows you to use code in articles however you want.
Also to be aware of is that if you have 1.5.7 or earlier and then upgrade to 1.5.8... there was a bug that turned on filtering for everyone... even blocking what the editors would allow. It's been fixed in 1.5.9 per the site information.
Where Jumi comes into play is that it doesn't matter what html filters and editors you use... you can just put a single jumi plugin line in your content and keep on going.
In Jay's case... (using jumi) the html filters wouldn't be an issue.
Either route should work... it's just a matter of personal preference on inserting code in every article... or using a plugin like jumi that allows you to change one instance of code and have it flow through your entire site... for example... I changed the basic layout of my articles and gave them a lot more room. Using jumi, I just changed my source code to adjust the embed width / height... and it effected every single pano on the site. Otherwise I would have had to edit every article.
HOWEVER... I think there's a more fundamental challenge with using XAMPP and figuring out the correct folder structure / syntax so that the swfobject.js can be found and utilzed.