While I have to agree that I like to know where I am in terms of numbers, the progress bar is an update I think the game definitely needed. It should make the incremental nature of research just a bit more obvious to new players and it's a nice visual touch. And in fact I actually made and posted a mockup of what the bar might look like in another thread, and the end result is remarkably similar.
But anyways, if you could add a mouseover with the amount of research needed and/or how long it will take to get there at the current research rate Dan, you'll have perfected the research screen from my point of view.
