OK. I've seen the light! I have changed from Like 7 to Default layout (old habits die hard?) and it solves a few complaints:
- blurred initial preview image (now preview pane is always visible)
- unreliable activity indicators and lack of "Tasks (0/0)" counter (now task pane is always visible making the activity indicators and counter unnecessary - unchecked the activity indicators option)
- Ctrl+Tab between panes is much smoother
I lost one column of thumbnail display, but the benefits outweigh that loss.
One feature of TP8/9/10 I absolutely love is the ability to add virtually every menu entry to the toolbar. The ability to add "Find Similar" to the toolbar is a real plus.
Cheers.