Abstract: A secondary power supply with a battery charging circuit for use with a primary power supply having an AC power relay coupled to a AC power source and a DC/DC power converter is disclosed. The secondary power supply includes a battery bank having positive and negative terminals, wherein the negative terminal is coupled to a negative power rail of the primary power supply. An auxiliary switch in the AC power relay, having first and second contacts coupled to the positive terminal of the battery bank and a positive power rail of the primary power supply, respectively, is closed in response to a loss of the AC power source. A battery charger circuit, coupled to the auxiliary switch and the battery bank, utilizes a voltage output from the DC/DC power converter to regulate charging of the battery bank. The battery charger circuit, in one embodiment, includes a regulation circuit that senses a plurality of electrical characteristics of the battery bank and, in response thereto, generates a control signal.

Abstract: A client on a network is provided with auxiliary low power logic, at the network adapter, that is always active and simulates network traffic (e.g. Ethernet format) normally sent under control of the main client system processor(s). This logic receives commands from the network manager, even when the system CPU is powered down or the system is not operational; information which allows the network manager to exercise broader control and perform maintenance and upgrades which would otherwise require service call for maintenance and reconfiguration of the client system. The auxiliary logic also can receive and interpret commands from the network that conform to a predefined format.

Abstract: A computer-input stylus which provides visual color feedback when utilized in conjunction with a computer-implemented software-based drawing application. The input stylus includes a cylindrical body in a conical tip. A color display within the stylus is utilized to illuminate the conical tip with a color indicative of a currently selected color within the software-based drawing application, providing visual color feedback. The color display is implemented utilizing multiple light-emitting diodes or an active matrix liquid crystal display mounted within an optically transparent portion of the conical tip.

Abstract: A carton for shipping a computer is provided with an access panel in one of its sidewalls. The access panel is located adjacent to the power connector, network connector, and power switch for the computer. The access panel provides external access to the connectors and the switch when the computer is packaged inside the carton. The carton also has an intake flap and an exhaust flap in its other sidewalls. If the computer needs to be reconfigured or otherwise electronically accessed, the task may be performed without removing the computer from the carton. The access flap is opened so that power and network cables may be coupled to the computer connectors. One end of a ventilation hose is attached to the aperture formed by the intake flap and the other end of the hose is secured to an air compressor. When the computer is operational, the air compressor supplies compressed air through the hose to force ventilating air into the carton.

Abstract: Devices for use in highly integrated radio frequency transceivers utilize micro-electro-mechanical systems, or wobble motors, to form superior switches and to select and vary components that determine different frequencies of operation. Each device has a substrate with concentric rings of electrodes and contacts. A circular rotor is centrally pivoted or wobbled to engage the contacts along its circumferential edge. The rotor may be mechanically or materially modified to create symmetric or asymmetric forms which interact with one or more stationary capacitor electrodes on the substrate. The positioning of the rotor forms in terms of rotation, overlap and separation, relative to the capacitor electrodes, varies the capacitance.

Abstract: A method and system for managing resources required by peripheral devices present within a computer system, the resources selected from a group of resources required for audio, video, pointing device, input, output, memory, and modem devices. A nominal selection of resources is initially associated with a peripheral device present within the computer system. Next, a minimal amount of resources required by the peripheral device to function normally within the computer system is determined, in response to associating the nominal selection of resources with the peripheral device.

Abstract: Devices for use in highly integrated radio frequency transceivers utilize microelectro-mechanical systems, or wobble motors, to form superior switches and to select and vary components that determine different frequencies of operation. Each device has a substrate with concentric rings of electrodes and contacts. A circular rotor is centrally pivoted or wobbled to engage the contacts along its circumferential edge. The rotor may be mechanically or materially modified to create symmetric or asymmetric forms which interact with one or more stationary capacitor electrodes on the substrate. The positioning of the rotor forms in terms of rotation, overlap and separation, relative to the capacitor electrodes, varies the capacitance.

Abstract: A novel PHY concentrator design is disclosed. The PHY concentrator provides switchable dual paths to disk drives from dual controllers. The concentrator uses a common input that is shifted into an internal shift register during the bus reset state and uses an individual TpBias source for each TPA port connection, instead of a common one for all ports. An external shift register can be loaded with an odd/even pattern or a half-on/half-off pattern, which controls the individual TpBias source for each TPA port. The concentrator prevents closed loop conditions from occurring when a pair of concentrators are used to build an array of devices, such as a RAID structure.

Abstract: A method and system is provided for improved electronic voting. The system optionally allows paper type ballots to be utilized. A plurality of cryptographic routines are utilized in a distributed data processing system to maximize the privacy of both the voter's identity and the content of completed ballots. An authentication server is utilized to interact with a voter to issue electronic ballots and receive completed electronic ballots in a manner which determines the authenticity of the identification of the voter, while maintaining the content of the completed ballot confidential. The distributed data processing system further includes a results server which tabulates the content of completed ballots in a manner which maintains the identity of the voters associated with the particular ballots confidential.

Abstract: An adaptor connection apparatus for a data processing system having at least first and second bus architectures and a guide for receiving first and second removable adaptors. Within the guide, first and second electrical contacts are provided for simultaneously connecting the first and second adaptors to the first and second bus architectures, respectively.