Read Write Web has an interesting article on the concept of the contextual user interface. A contextual user interface - as the name implies - is an interface which adapts to the current wishes of its users, the context. The interface will change according to the actions the user takes; present a set of minimal options, and show other options as the user goes along. While the article makes some good points, it also contains some generalisations that I find rather debatable.
The article explains that until not too long ago, we were living in a world of Windows-dominated user interfaces, which presented a standard set of user interface elements (widgets). According to the author, every application was full of these widgets, "and nothing else". He claims that the user interface world was not one to be innovative in.
User interface was not the place to be innovative. It was considered unorthodox and even dangerous to present the interface in non-standard ways because everyone believed that users were, to be frank, stupid, and wouldn't want to deal with anything other than what they were used to.
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