Post #3144735
2025-10-07 18:59 UTC
@samhenrigold@hachyderm.io I’m reminded again of a change I made in Mac OS 8.1 for HFS Plus.
I had to change the Start Manager code that loaded extensions so extensions would continue to load in MacRoman order. To keep Conflict Catcher working, I had to add new API it could use to control the order of extension loading.
Another engineer at Apple (IIRC, Mike Pucket) saw the new Start Manager API and changed the boot progress bar code to use the new API to make the progress bar’s updates smoother and more accurate, and that made Mac OS “seem” to boot much faster.
It’s funny how small UI changes can fool the mind.
Replies (2)
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@chrisgervais@hachyderm.io 2025-10-07 20:29
@jimluther@techhub.social @samhenrigold@hachyderm.io Since I've been spending time in System 7 again (because, let's find any mechanism to distract my from the outside world) and have to reboot a lot (hey, memory management is hard) it's funny how I use the extensions loading as the progress bar and it took me a beat to realize that I missed the progress bar in the startup window.
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@europlus@social.europlus.zone 2025-10-12 02:38
@jimluther@techhub.social @samhenrigold@hachyderm.io there are studies about the perception of progress based on how the progress bar, well, progresses. Fascinating!