Maybe on the web. But I feel on the web they are often not even there to mask load times but are just used as powerpoint-transition-like-effect. And also to prevent the user from seeing page-jumps when the page first loads.
But as an anecdote of where a progress bar was more than just cosmetic:
Couple of years ago I attempted to upgrade to a new MacOS on my Macbook and the install ran into some error but gave no indication whatsoever. So the only info I had was that the progress bar hadn't moved at all in 5 hours. I waited another couple of hours before I switched it off and tried again. Without the progress bar I probably would've waited another day. I mean my macbook was still bricked but at least I could compare it to screenshots online of people getting stuck at the same point, allowing us all to blame Apple :)
That's quite a specific scenario but anytime it's difficult to debug what's actually happening, I wouldn't say progress bars are just cosmetic.
Fair enough, sorry then. I mistook it as an argument against delivery fees.
If you're incapacitated for a longer time, you might still want to check out if any meals on wheels services are available to you. I actually know a few colleagues (in their 30s) that started getting those since working 100% from home. It can be quite a bit cheaper. And if you're like me it would also be healthier, because every time I order food it turns out to be something like burgers with fries ;-)
In Germany we have services commonly referred to as "Essen auf Rädern" (Meals on Wheels). A quick search shows that the concept actually originated in the 40s in the UK and has also made it to the US in the 60s [1].
Disabled and elderly people not being able to procure their own food isn't really a new problem and also isn't a problem that most first world societies have ignored.
So I'm not really sure what disabled people using a service have to do with the (allegedly) unfair wages of the delivery drivers.
At the top right of the graph you can see that it's currently around 9% in the minus in the pre-market.
A lot of sites don't update the graph for pre-market movements and only show price movements from when the market is open. On yahoo finance you can see pre-market movements if you open the full-screen graph (simply click the graph or click "full-screen" on mobile). https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/INTC?p=INTC&.tsrc=fin-srch
To be fair, the use of "nobody" in that sentence is a bit over-generalizing but isn't the sentiment of the sentence quite clear? If a group is a very homogeneous, outsiders might think that they're not welcome/ have lower chances of getting in.
I don't have any scientific proof to back up that claim but I can certainly relate from personal experience without belonging to any minority.
I think calling that "incredibly racist" and implying
Cthulhu_ is just "echoing" something from their circles is quite out of line. In the future maybe you could just point out what you think is wrong with the wording instead of attacking OP personally.
Also: There are things in this world which are "incredibly racist", which is beyond horrible. But do Cthulhu_'s remarks really belong into that category?
But as an anecdote of where a progress bar was more than just cosmetic: Couple of years ago I attempted to upgrade to a new MacOS on my Macbook and the install ran into some error but gave no indication whatsoever. So the only info I had was that the progress bar hadn't moved at all in 5 hours. I waited another couple of hours before I switched it off and tried again. Without the progress bar I probably would've waited another day. I mean my macbook was still bricked but at least I could compare it to screenshots online of people getting stuck at the same point, allowing us all to blame Apple :)
That's quite a specific scenario but anytime it's difficult to debug what's actually happening, I wouldn't say progress bars are just cosmetic.