How to make a UI "smarter"

First off, I would like to clarify how bad I am at making UI’s (User Interfaces). It never has been my specialty, but I know when I come across a UI that hasn’t been thought out for the consumers needs. Since I’m a gamer I’d like to show you a UI from (Valve Software) that I really am disgusted with, but am forced to use it.

If you notice, that none of the filters are filled in and everything is being displayed correctly.

This is where things start getting a little worse. If you select the game that you want to play, then shouldn’t the “Game” Column in the Sever Browser be removed?

I think that valve could spend a little bit more time on the UI, and make it more “Smarter.” Remove the columns that shouldn’t be displayed due to the applied filter(s), and auto adjust the columns to remove the excess in whitespace.

All images are from Valve, © 2006 Valve Corporation.