Apr 15, 2026
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.