Thanks for the suggestions/info, I apologize for the delay in replying. I noticed the delayed/ignored Fn keys for brightness/sound, but that really isn't the problem. There is a disconnect in the kernel ACPI interface between the value stored for the desired brightness and what the hardware uses. For me the value is stored at /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/backlight/acpi_video0/brightness, which is properly set by the various methods like the Fn keys. I have found that by setting the brightness value and then rebooting it will use the desired brightness after (warm) reboot. The brightness is also saved/restored upon suspend.
Thanks for the suggestions/info, I apologize for the delay in replying. I noticed the delayed/ignored Fn keys for brightness/sound, but that really isn't the problem. There is a disconnect in the kernel ACPI interface between the value stored for the desired brightness and what the hardware uses. For me the value is stored at /sys/devices/ pci0000: 00/0000: 00:02.0/ backlight/ acpi_video0/ brightness, which is properly set by the various methods like the Fn keys. I have found that by setting the brightness value and then rebooting it will use the desired brightness after (warm) reboot. The brightness is also saved/restored upon suspend.
I am currently using 2.6.39- 020639rc1- generic.