Yes they are. I pray those holes are not put on the Eagle2's case when it finally come out.
I'm not sure, man. Duck seems to have phases with each design, like certain paradigms he follows until it loops back around into the next generation. It started with the Orion v2, onto the Octagon v2, and that Blackbird board. I definitely didn't like the way the Octagon v2 looked compared to the original. Too generic for me.
Unless he's convinced that it's not a good aesthetic, we're probably going to keep seeing it. I'd take in-switch indicators any day. I also thought the blinking layer indicators of his older designs were charming. Kind of like aircraft navigation lights.