Evolution of the Scroll Bar
Today, I learned that the humble scroll bar has been around 20 years. As we worked earlier on monitors with smaller display resolutions, it was necessary to indicate there was more than one page of info that was being shared. The scroll bar ensured it was apparent to the reader.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/jwherrman/20-years-of-the-scroll-bar shows the way it is being used by popular programs and operating systems. In smaller displays like our smartphones it is apparent without even the presence of a scroll bar that we must swipe up, down or sideways to get to more of the goodness it contains.
If they had redesigned it on a Friday, would it look like this?