Apparatus, system, and method for selecting a waking process

1. An apparatus to select a waking process, the apparatus comprising:

an input module in communication with a data processing device and receiving a specified input during a data processing device off state and activating the data processing device in response to the input;

a storage module storing the input during the data processing device off state; and

a wake module retrieving the input from the storage module, determining a process that corresponds to the input by using the input to retrieve a process address from a process table, and waking the data processing device by loading and executing the process, wherein the process is a simplified operating system that decompresses and displays a compressed video stream and that does not support all functions of a primary operating system, to preserve processing bandwidth for displaying the compressed video stream.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the input module is a keyboard.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the keyboard comprises a plurality of wake selection keys that each generate a distinct input.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the specified input received during the data processing device off state is a combination of keystrokes.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the input module is a touch screen.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the input module is a pointing device.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wake module is a binary input/output system (“BIOS”).

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the storage module stores the input in a non-volatile register of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the input module, the storage module, and the wake module each comprise a hardware circuit.

10. A semiconductor device storing a program of software instructions for selecting a wake process, wherein the program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

receive a specified input during an off state of the computer;

store the input in a storage module during the off state of the computer;

activate the computer in response to the input;

retrieve the input from the storage module;

determine a process that corresponds to the input by using the input to retrieve a process address from a process table, wherein the process is a simplified operating system that decompresses and displays a compressed video stream and that does not support all functions of a primary operating system, to preserve processing bandwidth for displaying the compressed video stream; and

wake the computer by loading and executing the selected process.

11. The semiconductor device of claim 10 , wherein the program further causes the computer to store a plurality of specified input values.

12. The semiconductor device of claim 10 , wherein the input is stored in a non-volatile register of a USB interface.

13. A system to select a waking process, the system comprising:

a processor module executing software instructions and processing data;

a memory module storing the software instructions and the data;

a keyboard in communication with the processor module and the memory module, receiving a specified input during a data processing device off state, and activating the processor module and the memory module in response to the input;

a storage module storing the input during the data processing device off state; and

a wake module retrieving the input from the storage module, determining a process that corresponds to the input by using the input to retrieve a process address from a process table, and waking the system by loading and executing the process, wherein the process is a simplified operating system that decompresses and displays a compressed video stream and that does not support all functions of a primary operating system, to preserve processing bandwidth for displaying the compressed video stream.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the keyboard comprises a plurality of wake selection keys that each generate a distinct specified input.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the specified input received during the data processing device off state is a combination of keystrokes.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein the storage module stores the input in a non-volatile register of a USB interface.

17. A method for deploying a computer infrastructure for selecting a wake process, comprising a storage device storing executable code integrated into a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of performing the following:

storing a plurality of specified input values;

receiving an input of the plurality of specified input values during an off state of a data processing device;

storing the input in a storage module during the off state of the data processing device;

activating the data processing device in response to the input;

retrieving the input from the storage module;

determining a process that corresponds to the input by using the input to retrieve a process address from a process table, wherein the process is a simplified operating system that decompresses and displays a compressed video stream and that does not support all functions of a primary operating system, to preserve processing bandwidth for displaying the compressed video stream; and

waking the data processing device by loading and executing the selected process.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the input is stored in a non-volatile register of a USB interface.