ENDIAN Firewall - Netbook: Enable Screen Dimming?

OK, so I have been looking at an unused netbook I have here and I have come to the conclusion that it would make an excellent Endian firewall device if combined with a good USB NIC:

1.) Low power consumption
2.) Quiet
3.) Takes up very little space.
4.) Built-in screen and keyboard mean even smaller footprint.

So far, it seems to work well, but I am concerned because the screen backlight stays on at all times. The system will not turn it off automatically, and there is no way to force it off, which means that it will die a premature death.

So, is there a kernel argument that I can pass at boot time to enable screen dimming, or does the kernel not have any of the required support for that compiled in?

While I can understand that power-save options are not a high priority, as you wouldn't want your firewall going into standby, it does seem to make sense to put the display to sleep for cost/environmental reasons, even on a firewall.

Thoughts?