Status menus seem to be intended, among other things, to streamline indications. Some of these indications are not confined to the old Notification Area: others can be found on their own windows and indicate running processes, such as Nautilus copying some files, Firefox performing downloads or Brasero burning a DVD.

I have seen a series of mockups showcasing mockups for a progress indicator:

I would like to know if there are any actual plans to create a real progress indicator to house this type of indications.