Some people consider the web to be an information resource while others swear up and down that it's a form of entertainment. A good web designer knows how to blend just the right amount of interface with information, so that it appears seamless and the navigation almost transparent to the end user. This is where Davis's idea of liquid design comes into play. We often see it without even realizing it. Ice designs are not really a bad thing, but they do tend to take away from the user's experience of the site and remind us of the limitations of the web.
Ice is an element that is frozen solid.
Nothing about the element will change if a page is resized. There are a lot of Ice designs on the web in which the entire site is carved from it. Those are the sites that are frozen to the left side of the browser and only look best at a certain size. Only a few sites make use of this kind of style in web design. It's not much different than Ice design, however.