ProgressNet

Warning: This is a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong page, not recomended for slow Internet connections!

Browser

The Browser is a program which allows you to access the Progressnet (based on the Internet). It requires a modem, which can be unlocked via basic hardware progression. It is available from Progressbar 95 onwards, all server systems, BarOS 9 onwards, BAR/X, H@ckgresh and B OS.

In different systems, the application is named differently.

In Progressbar 95, it is known as Progressnet (based on older versions of Internet Explorer, which are called "Internet" on the desktop). From Progressbar 95 plus to 10 and NOT 4.0 Server to Server 2011, it is known as Progress Browser (based on Internet Explorer). In Progressbar 1X and onwards and Server 201X and onwards, it is known as Beige (based on Microsoft Edge). In BarOS, it is known as Barari (based on Apple Safari). In B OS, it is known as +B rowser (based on NetPositive, which is shortened to Net+).

Eras

Until the ver 1.02, It's divided in 3 Eras

	First Era	Second Era	Third Era
Progressbar	Progressbar 95 to Whisper and B OS	Progressbar XB to 81	Progressbar 10 to 11.22
Progressbar Server	Progressbar NOT 4.0 Server and 2000 Server	Progressbar Server 2002 to Server 2081	Progressbar Server 2011 to Server 2023
Bar Os	BAR/X, BarOS 9 and B OS	BarOS 10, 10.II and H@ckgresh	BarOS 10.III to 14

Websites

All websites start with pb://ppp, based on http://www, a prefix used in websites. pb:// is based on HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), while PPP (Public Progress Plexus) is based on WWW (World Wide Web).

You can find hyperlinks leading to different websites. Most of the websites also contain badges that say either "Progress Browser", "Made with Notebook" or both (only in the first era). On some occasions, a logon box will appear asking you to input a random number of asterisks; if you do so, you are able to get a bonus (see the Asterisks section in Bonuses).

Unknown websites and the personal site are hosted on a web hosting service.

• In the first era, the service is called Progresscities, based on Yahoo! GeoCities, which shut down in 2009.
• In the second era, the service is called Barpress, based on WordPress.
• In the third era, the service is called Progresspix, based on Wix.

Types

There are several different types of websites.

Home

Websites that are immediately accessible when opening the Browser or can be searched.

Unknown

Websites that can be accessed via hyperlinks on other websites.

Searchable

Websites that can be accessed via search results.

Special

Websites that can change appearance depending on what system you use.

Collectible

Websites that can be added to the Favorites page.

Bonus

Websites that only contain bonuses. Accessible via logging on to other websites or other means.

Miscellaneous

Other-related websites.

Bonus Websites or Bonus

In some websites, bonuses will sometimes appear, and clicking them will award you bonus points. There are a counter of cookies, password asterisks, memes and browser points that you have collected just below the search box.

Browser points

Browser points are collectable points which can be redeemed after finishing a level. There are many ways to earn them, for example:

• accessing websites;
• favouriting websites;
• getting bonuses;
• accepting the 'Ring the bell?' pop-up in the third-era;
• liking PBook posts/comments;
• reporting trolls on PBook;
• deactivating the script on the Dangerous website.

Points will be removed if the countdown of the Dangerous website ends or you unfavourite a website.

Cookies

Cookies are bonus points that can be found in the search bar. They will count as 5 points. There are 3 types of cookies, which are:

1. Bad cookies: Bad cookies are cookies that when clicked on, will remove one of your cookies. These don't exist in the first era.
2. Cookies: Normal cookies. They count as 1 cookie.
3. Chocolate cookies: Chocolate cookies are better than regular cookies; they count as 2 normal cookies.

Cookies can be given to Dogs in exchange for bonuses from the Dog, and cookies can sometimes be taken away if you press the "Take a cookie" button on the Suspicious website.

In systems that use the third era of the Progressnet, you need to click on a pop-up (appearing the first time you visit a different website) which asks you if you want to accept cookies in order to make them appear.

Meme

Memes are bonus points which usually appear on most websites. There will be a magenta box containing the text "Meme" with a shadow. When it is clicked, you will receive a meme. Each meme is converted to 10 points.

Asterisks

Asterisks are usable items which are used for if a website has a login prompt. If you log on with the correct amount of asterisks that the website asks for, you can enter a "locked" site with a bonus in it. If you do it on the Searchoo!! website, you will receive 4 bonuses, but this will use 10 asterisks, not 3 like other websites.

Source code

It is possible to view the source code of the website you are currently at in PBML code by pressing the </> button on the status bar, just below the website. PBML is based on HTML (HyperText Markup Language). You can find bugs, bonuses or asterisks sometimes in here.

Ads

Ads (also known as banners) are rectangles containing information inside. In the Progressnet, they may appear in locations where they are most likely to fit and appear.

Clicking any ad will lead you to the Store or a random website hyperlink depending on what they say. If the ad says about a free product, clicking it will give you the Suspicious website.

After accessing pages a lot of times, ads will not appear.

Evolution of User Experience

Depending on the system, the user experience of browsing the Progressnet can be affected. This can include the design of websites, modem speed, reliability, and browser behavior. All of these elements are listed here, along with how they behave in different eras.

Websites

First era

Most websites will appear to have a design last updated around the early-mid 90's. For proof, here are some websites that may reflect this:

• Despite the Pyrus Pyrifolia Calculators website only showing BarOS 9, which was released in 1995, it actually says it was last updated in 1994, 1 year before said system was released.
• While Progressbar's website shows products up to PB Whisper, the website's design actually says that it has been last updated in 1993, and weirdly, the company was called "Progress Industries (PDRD)", since Progressbar was originally created by Progressdata Refinement Department.
• The Flint and MD websites feature earliest CPU's.
• Searchoo!! says that it has been last updated in 1994.

The unknown websites hosted on Progresscities also seem to have a mid-90s like design.

Second era

Most websites claim to be last updated around the early 2000's. Again, there are some websites that reflect this:

• Despite the Pyrus Pyrifolia Calculators website showing products up to BarOS 10.III and pBar 65, it actually says that it was last updated in 2000, 16 years before BarOS 10.III was released.
• Despite the Progressbar website showing versions of Progressbar up to Progressbar 81, it actually says it was last updated in 2001, 10 years before Progressbar 81 was released.
• The Flint and MD websites feature CPU's that were released between earliest and latest.
• Searchoo!! says that it has been last updated in 2000. It also has links to PBook and Pbay, respectively.

PBook also gets added during this time, with a seemingly modernish look. The unknown websites hosted on Barpress now have a background that is either a solid colo(u)r or a tiled background with less visual elements.

Third era

Most websites are updated around the current year. There are some websites that reflect this:

• Pyrus Pyrifolia Calculators website shows a banner with a BarOS 10.III background reading "BarOS". In the BarOS page, versions from BarOS 11 to 14 are listed. In the Hardware page, "amazing things" from pBar 65 to pBar 2023 (B3) are listed.
• Progressbar's website shows products from Progressbar 10 to 11.22 (calling it the "tenth generation"). It also says "Beige is the new browser", since Beige appears in Progressbar 1X onwards.
• The Flint and MD websites feature latest CPU's.
• Searchoo!! now has individual icons for PBook, the personal site, the "link you may like" and Pbay.
• PBook's interface is refurbished.

The design of unknown websites hosted on Progresspix got updated to use a gradient background.

While not necessarily related to website design, websites now have an encrypted connection most of the time, represented with a padlock beside the URL. Some bad websites such as the Suspicious or Dangerous ones will not have a encrypted connection, represented by the padlock being unlocked.

Modem connection

First era

Since these systems are outdated, they use dial-up access. The player is not connected to dial-up by default, so they'll be offline at first. To be online, the player will have to connect to the Progressnet via dial-up, which emulates how people would connect to dial-up in real life.

After that, the player is connected to the Progressnet unsurprisingly, but since it's using a dial-up connection, the speed and reliability of a dial-up connection will be bad. For example:

• Pages will have a slower loading time, and elements will noticeably pop in, including the background.
• If there's images on a page, they will be loaded slower. The loading animation either be the image wiping down from the top, or becoming un-pixelated.
• Images can suddenly break while loading (or not load at all) and leave behind a broken image indicator.

In shorter terms: pages load slower; elements and images can break or not load at all, thus causing a decrease in both speed and reliability.

Second and third era

An Ethernet connection is now used instead of dial-up. This means that the player will have a much faster connection, along with full reliability. For example:

• Page loading times and image loading times will be greatly reduced.
• Images and elements will no longer break.

For a summary, Ethernet connections are most faster and reliable than dial-up connections.

Browser behavior

First and second era

• Cookies will be automatically accepted and will give you cookies without manually asking the user for confirmation.
• A feature to "ring the bell" on websites (which will be explained in the next section) has not been added yet.
• Pop-ups may sometimes appear. They are the same as ads, and if you click them, you will get sent to the Store or a random website.

Third era

• Cookies need to be manually accepted, and asks for confirmation every time.
• A feature to "ring the bell" on websites has been added, which can give you browser points. It also asks for confirmation every time.