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Lisa Melton: ‘Memories of Steve’ (and Memories of Safari’s Unique Page-Loading Indicator in Particular)

Daring Fireball

Apr 15, 2026

4/15/2026

Showing Progress More Clearly Can Worsen Perceived Performance Even When Speed Improves

Lisa Melton: ‘Memories of Steve’ (and Memories of Safari’s Unique Page-Loading Indicator in Particular) · Daring Fireball

Science, Technology & Innovation · Apr 15, 2026

Safari’s distinctive progress indicator arose when Steve Jobs removed the status bar in late 2002, prompting Jobs and Lisa Melton to embed page-loading progress into the address field—a design that became iconic but initially made the browser feel slower despite objectively faster loads because the more visible progress cue worsened perceived performance.