Progress Indicators

[Rayza]

Dont you wish some software vendors would use decent progress indicators when installing or downloading software?

Take IE 7 for instance - when you install it, the progress indicator just scrolls along without you actually knowing how long is left on the installation. Why bother having one of it's not going to do what its been designed for - telling you how long you have left??

[TheFlash428]

Yes, but of course the actual time it takes to instal a program depends on factors such as available memory and processor speed, so often the times listed are strictly estimates which are rarely correct anyway.

A progress bar tells a little more of a story, but then again, few progress bars move at a uniform speed and more often than not installers will display multiple progress status bars before all is said and done, so again, you're left not really knowing when an installation is really going to finish.

Having said that, yes, I did notice that IE7's installer package did leave me wanting for at least something to indicate just how long a wait I was in for--but at least as long as that thing is moving I know it's doing something.