Patent ID: 7076734

Claim:
In a computing system that includes a display screen that is capable of displaying a variety of types of media, a method for providing a dynamically controllable user interface that embraces the variety of types of media, the method comprising the acts of: displaying a menu system on the display screen, wherein the menu system includes first and second categories selectable by a viewer, each of the first and second categories having corresponding subcategories; displaying the first category at a selected location of the display screen; in response to receiving a selection of the second category by the viewer, automatically replacing the first category with the second category at the selected position of the display screen, and such that each displayed category that is selected is ratcheted to the selected position; and displaying, with the second category, the subcategories corresponding to the second category in a single horizontal line, such that all of the subcategories corresponding to the second category can be accessed by horizontal scrolling of the menu system and without requiring any vertical scrolling of the menu system, and wherein the only subcategories displayed on the display screen at a given instant in time are the one or more subcategories corresponding to a category displayed at the selected position on the display screen at the given instant in time, and wherein every subcategory corresponding to each of the displayed categories, is only ever displayed at any time for selection on the display screen in the single horizontal line, regardless of which category is selected, and wherein each of the subcategories corresponding to a selected category is accessible without requiring any displayed subcategory of the selected category to move vertically and such that any undisplayed subcategory corresponding to the selected category is accessible during navigation of the subcategories through horizontal navigation, and without any vertical movement of the displayed subcategories corresponding to the selected category.