[ILUG] Managing USB devices

[Andrew McCarthy]

Hi folks,

On my laptop there's an embedded Logitech webcam above the screen. This
gets hot, even when not in use. I just discovered that the rather ugly
   echo 0 > /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb5/5-5/bConfigurationValue
disables the camera, cutting battery consumption by over 25% (it really
did get very hot).

I know I could put an entry in /etc/sysctl.conf to set it off by
default, but I'd like to be able to switch it on again later without
resorting to the above ugliness. Is there a "proper" way to manage
embedded USB devices? 

Kernel 2.6.20 on Ubuntu Feisty, if it matters.

Thanks folks,

Andrew