The Connectivity Fallacy & $(window).load(function())
While the Network as a whole is borderline miraculous, the reality of its connection quality is far from it. Connectivity sucks, even in private-industry led first-world connection environments. Fiber backhauls are generally pretty good, but "last-mile" services suck. The issue is usually around latency, but bandwidth throughput is also generally inconsistent and poor (and about to get a lot worse if/when Net Neutrality dies). I'm pointing the finger at cell/mobile carriers mostly, but also at cable providers. Satellite carriers don't count because the technology just plain sucks (latencies between ground/low-earth-orbit sats are too high to be generally useful); it's cute, but it sucks.
We all stare at our screens waiting for content to load. Whether that's an image upload in an iMessage exchange, an Instagram image load, mail coming in, or web pages loading, we spend way to much time looking at blank screens or spinning graphics indicating "progress." I'd like client app providers fire OS-level notification events that indicate network operations are complete. This way, I could open a web page, then put my phone back in my pocket while it loads, then pull it out once it's done loading and the notification fires.