I'm using the SPServices jQuery library to update a list which is working fine. 

note: This problem may have absolutely nothing to do with SPServices; I'll have to try using the jQuery ajax method directly to see if that can overcome the problem I'm encountering

At any rate, I added an IMG tag (for an ajax loader gif) to the page with a style attribute (visibility:hidden), and added event handlers for 2 jQuery ajax events: ajaxStart (to show() the image) and ajaxStop (to hide() the image).

It works fine in Firefox but in IE 8 the image is never displayed. I put alerts in the ajaxStart and ajaxStop event handlers to confirm they fire, and they do.

I also tried a using a plain non-animated gif, but the results were the same: works fine in Firefox but nothing is ever displayed in IE 8.

As I said, I might try using the jQuery ajax method directly and maybe put the code to show and hide the image in the beforeSend and complete arguments; I don't think there is a way to do this with SPServices because there is no way (that I know of at least) to add something to the beforeSend when using SPServices.

At any rate, that's the problem. Thanks!!