title: HTML: "Please wait" loading page with redirect, cross browser, standards compliant
body: <p>I have the common problem of implementing a "Please wait, processing your request" page in HTML to show to the user while a long running task is processing.  Specifically, I am creating an order and billing a credit card.</p>
  
  <p>Currently I am first loading PleaseWait.html showing a message and a spinner, which straight away redirects to Process.html, which does the processing.  Once Process.html has finished, it redirects to Complete.html.</p>
  
  <p>I am trying to do this completely cross browser and following all the recommendations.  This means the following techniques should be avoided:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Javascript redirect, as the user could have disabled scripting</li>
  <li>META Refresh, as this is discouraged / deprecated, and I think some browsers also allow the user to disable it</li>
  <li>Sending an HTTP 301 response, as this causes the browser (at least, IE) to not render the Please Wait page at all</li>
  <li>using a hidden iframe to hold Process.html, as again I believe this will require javascript to detect when the processing has completed</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>So my question is... how the hell do I accomplish this?</p>
  
  <p>Bonus points (well, kudos at least) if the solution enables my animated GIF to continue to animate during the entire processing stage.  I mention this because it seems that in IE, when PleaseWait.html redirects Process.html, all animations are stopped, which means that my spinner currently only spins for half a second or so, then stops while the Process.html is loaded page does its thing.</p>