I can't speak to what they were like 15 years ago. But, I've got Silhouette brand progressives ($$$) with what appears to be three bands of focus, near, medium, far. It took me a few weeks to get used to them including moving my head to line them up. But, since then I've had no problem with them outside of typical glasses problems (rain, sweat, falling off, getting scratched, bridge of nose fatigue,etc). I've had them about 3 years.
Mine are extremely light which is nice. The lenses are stylishly small but other than looking good a small lens seems to have smaller 'bands' of focus which can require more head and eye movement. I did not notice this until I got prescription sunglasses that are Ray Ban Wayfarers with great big lenses. The sun glasses are far more pleasant to use because the focal bands are broader. I'm due for a new pair of every day glasses. I will get larger lenses this time, I really don't care about style. I will also decline the anti-glare coating for computer use since I can't see much benefit and as mentioned they do give things a warm cast.
I am also very interested in the Zeiss 'indoor' glasses optimized for reading and computer use. Another huge expense but when it comes to my eyes I'm willing to pay.