@Dclew2;
Yes...I agree...to take make the most out of the Live view feature, Sony have incorporated two important things on the Alpha 350....an articulated screen  (although only tiltable not twistable) and a viewfinder cover.
Be great for the paparazzi......

And, yes it has been a feature in many P&S cams....however, it is somewhat more complicated to implement into a DSLR....either the mirror must move or the mirror needs to be transmissive.  To achieve this, Sony has allowed the mirror to tilt to direct the image to the live view sensor....and also by doing this has sacrificed the viewfinder size ( even smaller than the A200).  So, if you are doing most of your shooting through the viewfinder anyway, it may not be your best cam choice.

In youth, we learn....with age, we understand.