The progress bar that doesn't convey any sense of progress (was Re: ...)

[Jamu Kakar]

Hi Gordon,

On Thu, Nov 26, 2009 at 6:54 PM, Gordon Tyler <gordon at doxxx.net> wrote:
> Now, I like ASCII art as much as the next guy but I think the text
> progress UI might be better if done so:
>
> (/)  45%   1071KB  182KB/s | Fetching revisions: Inserting stream
>
> In order: Spinner, Total progress, Total data transferred (down + up),
> Overall average transfer rate, Techno-babble.

What I really want to know, which isn't addressed in your proposal,
is "How much time is left before I have what I've asked for?".  I
think that is, fundamentally, what people care about.  Everything
else is typically only interesting when something goes wrong, or as
additional information if you like that kind of thing.

I want to know if:

1. I should block and wait for the operation to finish, because the
   operation will take <= 10 sec.

2. I should unblock and perform a quick task while I wait, like
   check the latest messages on identi.ca, because the operation
   will take <= 1 min.

3. I should make a coffee, because the operation will take <= 5 mins,
   not long enough to do anything really meaningful.

4. I should abort and find a better way to do what I want, or switch
   to a completely different task while I wait, because the
   operation will take > 5 mins.

Ideally every operation will leave me in mode #1.  I'm okay with
modes #2 and #3, but I'd like to know as soon as possible when
that's the case.  Ideally I'll never be put into mode #4.

Thanks,
J.