Nope. It's something more esoteric than that... Operator Stupidity.

While brushing the dust off the UPS to find the model number to answer K447's question, I uncovered a label next to an unobtrusive button on the top of the unit. The label said: "Enable Master." When I pressed the button (press and hold, actually) a green LED light lit up, and guess what... the Master/Controlled-by-Master feature immediately began working.

Well, at least I didn't have the paper upside down in the printer!

This does not answer the question of why the USB ports remain "hot" when the computer is shut down. I had this problem back in 2006 or 2007 on the old computer, and Tony solved it for me back then. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the solution was.

Oh, wait. I found it.

Similar problem, but not the same. As long as the power supply on the computer is switched ON, the USB ports are hot. At least, the one USB port on the computer that I am plugged into is hot. That port feeds a 7-port hub, one of whose outputs daisy chains to a second 7-port hub. Both of these hubs light up with pretty LEDs when they are up and running, and they stay lit up unless I move the computer hutch away from the wall and reach around behind it and physically turn off the computer's power supply switch. Then the LEDs go out. This behavior is the same whether the USB hubs' wall wart is plugged into the UPS or not.

It may be that the only thing actually powered up in the USB system is the LEDs on the hubs. My Kindle and my iPod both show no connection (either charging or data) when the computer is shut down. I dunno... it's a mystery to me.

tanstaafl.