Just to point out, you can disable the tabs in WLM (I agree, they're completely redundant, and I can't even imagine it brings in much revenue for MS) - in Tools>Options>Tabs there's a checkbox for 'Hide tabs'.
As for the other bloat, you can strip this down using various plugins - there will probably be something at mess.be to your fancy, though I suppose that isn't really the point.
Just to point out, you can disable the tabs in WLM (I agree, they're completely redundant, and I can't even imagine it brings in much revenue for MS) - in Tools>Options>Tabs there's a checkbox for 'Hide tabs'.
As for the other bloat, you can strip this down using various plugins - there will probably be something at mess.be to your fancy, though I suppose that isn't really the point.