Will the <canvas> be useful for general design?

[RaptorRex]

HTML5 defines the canvas which is basically a blank slate onto which you can draw anything. Games are the first thing that comes to mind.

Years ago many sites were made as "Flash sites" to add animations to pages but that has since been replaced with jquery. - drop down menus etc ...

The canvas could do what Flash sites used to do, but jquery makes that obsolete IMO.

So my question is, does the <canvas> of HTML5 have any practical application in web design itself, or is it just for embedded content - like games or graphs etc?

[sandyadevi]

Canvas element in the HTML5 is biggest feature that allow developers to create rich web applications without installing any plug-ins like Adobe’s Flash. Canvas will allow you to draw page and dynamically update these drawings by using scripts. This means developers can build incredible applications. From games, to dynamic effects on user interface, code editors, graphics editors, applications, 3D effects and more.

[RaptorRex]

So just embedded content like games and apps?
I can't imagine how it might be used to enhance "regular" webpage. By "regular" I mean a page that isn't hosting a game or editor or other such app.
Back in the mid-90s animated gifs and java applets were briefly the rage until people realized how annoying an animation on a web page is.
It seems to me that the canvas is more a tool for Javascript programmers than web designers.