> running something like Netscape 3.x while watching the ‘throbber’—a looping, pixelated animation of a planet-straddling ‘N’ getting hit with a meteor shower
Trivia (but maybe relevant to HN): I believe the reason it was called a "throbber" was from the throbbing "N" [1] with which Netscape Navigator replaced NCSA Mosaic's cool spinning globe.[2]
I always thought that the throbbing N seemed like a placeholder. I vaguely recall JWZ later having a collection of throbbers/spinners for Navigator.
Trivia (but maybe relevant to HN): I believe the reason it was called a "throbber" was from the throbbing "N" [1] with which Netscape Navigator replaced NCSA Mosaic's cool spinning globe.[2]
I always thought that the throbbing N seemed like a placeholder. I vaguely recall JWZ later having a collection of throbbers/spinners for Navigator.
[1] http://www.andrewturnbull.net/nscape1.html
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m97sLnauJ78?t=2m10s