Back in the day, one would type a command into a computer at a prompt and press enter. When that command was complete, the prompt would reappear, awaiting the next command.
Sometimes, things would get stuck and the command would not complete. Sometimes, a user would get impatient waiting for a command to complete. The only option was to abort the command (possibly by unplugging the computer).
This led to the creation of “user pacification dots”. While a command was executing, it would now and again print a dot to the screen to inform the user that the command was indeed still working.
This eventually became a progress bar and/or a wait cursor. Now we have spinning circles.
AND IT’S INSANELY STUPID!
Modern computers – and the programs that run on them – can utilize multiple processors simultaneously. All the spinning circles prove is that the processor dedicated to drawing spinning circles is working. It does not indicate anything about the state of what one is actually trying to accomplish.
Every version of Windows just has to change this. So far, on a new laptop, I’ve had the chasing dots spinning circle of Windows startup, a variably long circumference fragment rotating at various speeds, which seem random, and a sort of recycling progress bar of variable speed dots that go left to right then start again at the left. It’s all absolutely meaningless.
On the bright side, my new laptop is (or at least appears to be) self-installing itself nicely.
