[RANT] Who wants a dimmed screen?

I've been having an issue with our Macs at work that I have been unable to find a suitable 'fix' for.

I have posted on Apple's discussion forums here to no avail, no response in a month and even linked to two unanswered  yet archived threads about the same issue.

 So what the heck is going on.

Sequence of events: (Jan 2008 - to present)

1. New Aluminium iMacs arrive with drop-in Leopard upgrade DVDs.
   
2. Put current image on them running OS X v10.4 - Tiger. No issues with screens on these or the older Intel iMacs (White)
3. End of year (2008) - start creating new image for 2009 with OS X v10.5 Leopard.
4. Machines start booting with screen at minimum brightness
5. Search the intarwebs high and low for a 'fix' to this issue. Find plenty of similar stories but no solutions.
6. Classes about to start - still no solution other than Automator workflow to maximise brightness on login. 
7. So decide to post on blog about it.
   

So that's about it in a nutshell. I currently have some half-arsed solution to quite a major issue (especially in a graphic design and photography school).

I simply cannot believe that this has not been brought to Apple's attention by those far more knowledgeable and connected than me.

Anybody reading this and can point me in the right direction for a solution, please feel free to comment.