the.com/loading
the universal hourglass we stare at, willing pixels to become reality faster
means The act of bringing something in — data, cargo, a program, a gun — into a place or system so it's ready to use, or the in-between moment while that's happening.
from From 'load,' an old Germanic word for a burden or the act of placing one — a cousin of 'lade,' as in 'laden' and the 'bill of lading' still used in shipping. For centuries it meant heaving physical weight onto a cart, ship, or beast. The '-ing' simply turns it into the ongoing process. Computers borrowed the word for pulling programs and data into memory, and from there it drifted to the screen we watch while the machine quietly heaves its invisible cargo.
- spinner physics
- Throbbers and spinners trick brains into perceiving shorter waits
- fake progress
- Many progress bars are scripted lies, unconnected to real work
- 99 percent
- The final percent often takes longest, betraying the bar
- slow but smart
- Animated waits feel faster than honest blank screens
- loading screens
- Early games hid level loads behind elaborate fake corridors
loading bar — progress indicator showing file transfer percentage, ubiquitous in software since windows 95
loading dock — warehouse structure for truck cargo transfer, found at retail distribution centers worldwide
loading screen — video game transition screen, iconic in games like final fantasy vii and elden ring