Steve, I obviously own two m10s. Well, as with ANY gear, you just have to simply learn it, inside and out, and you will cut down on fukd up recordings. I simply put the m10 in record/pause mode, and the pre recording buffer starts. I've owned and run many different recorders over the years, and the newer recorders couldn't be ANY easier to use. The SD 7 series r probably the easiest to run. But running my m10, I simply look at my recorder for a few minutes and make SURE that its recording and the numbers are going UP. Simple as can be.
Sorry homie, but I don't see the downside to having one record/pause button on ur recorder. To me, once you learn your whole rig and recorder, you should just take the extra few seconds to make sure you're recording and the numbers are going UP. Obviously, everyone makes mistakes and fucks up, but if you have a legit system down, then you should rarely mess up a recording
Hell, I've gotten so good at having a system down for starting a recording, I rarely fuck up a recording. But I have made EVERY mistake possible over the years, and IMO, that's the only true way to learn. If u fuck up enough recordings, then you're bound to learn from your mistakes lol