That Missing Close button

Why the %#@# do they insist on hiding the close button on browser tabs?

(IE 9 in image above)
I know it appears when you point at it, but the number of times I've accidentally closed a tab when I was just trying to select it, because the close icon wasn't there when I clicked!

Chrome is a little better. At least there's a pale grey x to remind you.

Firefox is similar.

I'd just like the icon to be a little bit more blatant at all times. But IE's approach of hiding it completely just sucks!

Office 2010 beta (pardon my French)

I joined the Windows 7 Beta programme last year and tried the Win7 RC. Microsoft sent me regular emails about the product. Mostly forgettable emails, but they must have worked as I eventually bought an upgrade to Win7. (Not a bug surprise, as I've had every version of Microsoft's OS since PC DOS 1.1 except ME and Vista.)

This year I tried the Office 2010 Beta. Not too bad, but I wasn't sure how much it differed from Office 2007 as I'm still using Office 2003. I installed it on a virtual machine rather than under my main OS as I'd heard how Outlook 2010 doesn't play well with previous versions.

I quite like One Note. It could replace some freeware tools I use, and handles internal links better. Now I'm finally getting used to the ribbon, it might be worth my upgrading from Office 2003. But I expect I'll still be using Word 2003 compatible files for a few years until everyone can read .docx files.

And as expected, Microsoft sends me regular emails about the Beta... but all in French!

I haven't a clue what they're saying, nor how to change what language they use.

"Consultez et partagez vos ressources pédagogiques où que vous soyez, ou presque‏" says the latest. I could google translate it. But I'm not expecting anything earth shattering.

If they're doing this to everyone, I don't expect they'll get a lot of useful feedback.