well... through even more research of my own it seems I've come across an answer.
The USB standards (as outlined at http://www.directron.com/installusb.html) indicate that the red wire is used for power. Now, I wouldn't have made this assumption without a basis for comparison in the components...
well, ok... but looking at the diagrams I need something to power it, right? I'm pretty sure the front panel runs USB 2.0 and I wouldn't have thought that would require an additional cable.... but maybe I'm wrong?
I am using a Soyo CK8 Dragon Plus Motherboard with a Soyo CX-5959 tower. My problem is that I'm not exactly sure how to connect the USB front panel of the case to the motherboard. The motherboard documentation has a picture of the USB20_1 connector on the motherboard...