Abstract: The invention provides a power saving feature in a computer system such as a desktop computer using the Windows.TM. operating system. The computer system includes one or more "sleep" buttons which selectively reduce power consumption to subsystems based on the status of various consumer devices which share the subsystems with a computer function of the system. From the user's perspective, each sleep button acts as a power switch for the computer but not for devices associated with the computer. Each sleep button transitions the computer from its normal power-on state to one or more power saving states depending on which consumer devices are active.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for dynamically configuring a PCMCIA compatible card permits new or modified configuration parameters to be loaded into an FPGA on the card. In accordance with the invention, the PCMCIA card is initially configured to operate as a memory device. While in this mode, an FPGA on the card is loaded from a host computer using memory write commands through the PCMCIA interface. Thereafter, the card is reconfigured to operate as an I/O device using the FPGA code newly loaded on the card. The invention permits new PCMCIA card designs to be quickly changed and tested by downloading code into the FPGA and operating the card as an I/O device. The nonvolatile nature of an FPGA permits the card to retain its new or modified functions even after it has been powered down. Moreover, the invention permits code changes to be made dynamically without powering down the computer.