A personal media player, comprising: a display screen configured for rendering text and graphics; user controls; a digital media processing system interfacing with the display screen to render a GUI showing one or more content items, the digital media processing system including an interface for receiving content items and context objects from a remote source; and memory (1215, 1218, 1221) bearing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors in the personal media player i) implement the GUI on the display screen, the GUI arranged for displaying a plurality of context objects that are logically populated within a plurality of halos, each of the halos surrounding a content item to provide contextual meaning to the content item, the context objects being configured to morph, upon selection by a user of the personal media player, into a new content item having a new halo comprising a plurality of context objects; ii) enable the user controls to be manipulated by the user to navigate to context objects that are displayable on the display screen; and iii) reduce a number of context objects in the halo to match locally stored content items when the personal media player is disconnected from the remote source. a display screen configured for rendering text and graphics; user controls; a digital media processing system interfacing with the display screen to render a GUI showing one or more content items, the digital media processing system including an interface for receiving content items and context objects from a remote source; and memory (1215, 1218, 1221) bearing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors in the personal media player i) implement the GUI on the display screen, the GUI arranged for displaying a plurality of context objects that are logically populated within a plurality of halos, each of the halos surrounding a content item to provide contextual meaning to the content item, the context objects being configured to morph, upon selection by a user of the personal media player, into a new content item having a new halo comprising a plurality of context objects; ii) enable the user controls to be manipulated by the user to navigate to context objects that are displayable on the display screen; and iii) reduce a number of context objects in the halo to match locally stored content items when the personal media player is disconnected from the remote source. i) implement the GUI on the display screen, the GUI arranged for displaying a plurality of context objects that are logically populated within a plurality of halos, each of the halos surrounding a content item to provide contextual meaning to the content item, the context objects being configured to morph, upon selection by a user of the personal media player, into a new content item having a new halo comprising a plurality of context objects; ii) enable the user controls to be manipulated by the user to navigate to context objects that are displayable on the display screen; and iii) reduce a number of context objects in the halo to match locally stored content items when the personal media player is disconnected from the remote source.