Mohammad, OK. It does behave as if it is locked which is why I asked. But if a non-zero write to the power control "file" locks it, how is fmtxd reducing the power level when USB is connected? Does fmtxd open the file just once and keep seeking/rewriting the power? I guess I should strace fmtxd or look in the new kernel source and find out for myself but I figured you might already know and I'm very lazy. :-) Feel free to point me to another thread if this has been discussed elsewhere. --Brad