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http://www.prettyloaded.com/

by yread • 16 years ago

157 25 16 years ago

mirkules• 16 years ago

Some of these look a lot like iPhone game loaders. It's really interesting how limitations in hardware spur creativity.

Groxx2• 16 years ago

Some of the loaders I've seen (Coke's sites in particular, in my experience) have ridiculous system requirements to appear smooth. Add in that they're using Flash, which pretty much allows you to do anything... and they're examples of what the removal of limitations has spurred. Google's pacman is a good example of creativity within limitations, given that it's a bunch of divs and even works on IE6, instead of something more capable like <canvas>.

Not that I'm denying limitations spur creativity. There are some awesome things in the Demoscene, and older hardware, and more power can often result in less focus.

ugh• 16 years ago

The Pacman loading bar [1] is actually very interesting. I think it’s just a static image – doomed to be stuck at 60% forever. Since load times are low that doesn’t really matter. It’s instantly recognized for what it is and that might be all that’s needed (and it fits the theme better than those newfangled spinning indicators).

[1] Empty your cache (if you visited before), load and quickly click “Insert Coin”, you might see it for a fraction of a second: http://google.com/pacman

upinsmoke• 16 years ago

Only thing to miss when HTML5 take over. No more loaders.

Groxx2• 16 years ago

You expect website-creators to stop using ridiculously data-expensive techniques because a new tech comes out? Usually new tech implies the opposite.

The end of loaders (which HTML5 does not represent in the least. Just pre-load through JS with a % done) would be a bad thing, because you wouldn't know that the site would load within a reasonable amount of time. Coke's site could take 5 seconds or 5 minutes, and without a loader, what do you do? Stare at a blank page, wondering if it's working?

bd• 16 years ago

Don't worry, there will be loaders with HTML5.

When your application uses a lot of assets, it's pretty much unavoidable, independently of underlying technology.

In fact, it's probably going to be worse, at least at the beginning, as JS currently lacks a good way to handle packs of binary resources.

Just check Google IO presentation from team that ported Quake 2 to JS [1]. Resource loading was a big pain point, they had to resort to pack data in UTF strings.

http://code.google.com/events/io/2010/sessions/gwt-html5.htm...

zefhous• 16 years ago

One thing though, is that browsers cache the data with HTML.

Cappuccino uses UTF strings for data, but I wouldn't say "has to resort," it's actually a great experience for both the developer and the user.

albertzeyer• 16 years ago

Take a look at https://mail.google.com

Although they don't really have such fancy loading bar. Whereby I really prefer such a simple one.

kunley2• 16 years ago

When a loader itself takes about 80-90% of cpu time, i kill it and don't visit the page again.

bombarolo• 16 years ago

i386sx?

MrFoof• 16 years ago

I'm on a Core2 Duo (T7200) and the range of CPU time spent by those loaders varies from 30% to 120%.

kunley2• 16 years ago

Nope, T3400 - generations younger & faster.

Btw I remember browsing the web with early versions of Netscape on X console of an i386sx server which at the same time had dozens of irc-and-whatever-doing users. The browsing experience was smoother than now.

Of course there were no flash, js and other pile of technologies. But face the facts, most of these novelties are used today to deliver the content of questionable value in a way which will make it better memes, nothing more.

If you look at it from a distance it's quite stupid use for such advancved technologies. I still believe in an idea that computers are here to free us from a boring repetitive work - to compute things for us. The outcome of it would be that average user spent less time by the computers, enjoying what he likes in a life instead. But today's situation is that the software industry is making users sitting more by the computers, because this industry is all about trading the information, memes and advertisements, luring the users into false comfort zones like social networks, ad target groups via portals and stuff like that.

It's just stupid. Flash loaders are just part of this counter-productive culture. Usually the more CPU they eat the less interesting the content showed afterwards is. It's like that because CPU-eating intro shows something about the state of mind of people who created it (or hired the creators) and most likely such people will not have anything interesting to show as a real content.

lubos• 16 years ago

It took me a few minutes to figure out what was going on... silly me

sesqu• 16 years ago

Here's the alternate content, which I saw before allowing scripts:

Once upon a time, in a land of sputtering dial-up connections, websites took ages to load. Folks yearned for the 100% mark. But as soon as that figure arrived, the beloved (or bemoaned) preloader disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again. Until now.

Pretty Loaded is an archive of preloaders that preload other preloaders…which in turn reveal yet more preloaders. Copy that? It’s a tribute to a vanishing art form amid a constantly changing digital landscape.

This infinite loader is being put together with help from friends across the interactive community. We’ll continue to add to it over time, so keep on coming back.

Pretty Loaded is created and curated by Big Spaceship. Kindly direct your observations and inquiries right this way: info |at symbol| prettyloaded |dot| com.

ThomPete2• 16 years ago

Lighten up guys :)

This is an old site and is pretty popular in the creative industry.

Not because of the technical accomplishments but because of the ideas. It should judged as that.

nevinera• 16 years ago

>Not because of the technical accomplishments but because of the ideas. It should judged as that.

It should be judged by whatever criteria the judge deems important, just like everything else.

ThomPete2• 16 years ago

That's up to you. All I am saying is that you are missing out on something if all you judge it on is how much CPU is being used.

Kind of like judging code on what typography the editor uses to display it.

antipaganda• 16 years ago

True. Values are arbitrary. On a related note:

Your name has two ns in it, like some common street urchin or rogue. I say, sir, you must take them out or there will be a reckoning upon the morrow! Eviera it shall be, or my name be not atipagada!

mambodog• 16 years ago

Watching this induces acid-flashback type remembrances of all the times I've waited for unnecessary Flash sites to load... mainly movie websites.

Thinking back, the only person I have to blame is myself.

abp• 16 years ago

Yeah, there we can watch loading screens for hours, without ever getting anything at the end.

seltzered• 16 years ago

I was having issues with flash today, and ended up at neverloaded! http://www.prettyloaded.com/noflash.html

jared314• 16 years ago

Art is nice, but why isn't the browser loading bar accessible in js?

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