> <div id=s1 disabled>
> <button onclick="alert('1')">click me</button>
> <button onclick="alert('2')">click me</button>
> <button onclick="alert('3')">click me</button>
> </div>
>
> When I open this code in IE6 the buttons indeed appear grayed out
> (disabled), but surprisingly - they do respond to clicks, despite
> MSDN's explicit declaration...

That won't work in any browser other than IE. It's also invalid HTML.

> Does anybody know how can I still control the buttons state or
> enable/disable their mouse events in one command?

Use your original HTML and:

if( !document.getElementById ) {
if( document.all ) {
document.getElementById = function( id ) {
return document.all[ id ];
}
} else {
document.getElementById = function() {
return null;
}
}
}
function enableGroup( prefix, num, bool ) {
bool = bool || true;
for( var i = 1, e; i <= num; ++i ) {
e = document.getElementById( prefix + num );
if( e ) e.disabled = !bool;
}
}

calling the function

enableGroup( 'b', 3 )
or
enableGroup( 'b', 3, true )

to enable b1 through b3 and

enableGroup( 'b', 3, false )

to disable b1 through b3.

Mike