3min chapter

99% Invisible cover image

Wait Wait...Tell Me!

99% Invisible

CHAPTER

How Progress Bars Made Waiting a Lot Easier

In the 1970s, older computers had a simple way to let users know that the computer was working. Brad Myers says having that little bit of information about the progress the computer was making made the experience of waiting much more bearable. Progress bars gave users an accurate depiction of how much a task had been completed at any given time.

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