The beginner's area is a great addition to the game and tastefully done by Frontier. It gives just the right amount of guidance. If I had to be critical, I'd say that it still assumes too much fore-knowledge for someone 100% new to the game, it's hard for me to tell because the problem nearly all of us have is that once we know how to play the game, fly our ships, land and take off, buy cargo and the rest, you don't un-learn that.
If griefers and gankers are crying salty tears over this, then tough. It just proves Frontier did the right thing.