I actually hate the backlight. I've found that having the computer set it automagically makes both the screen and the keyboard at the same level, and with the bright-kinda color the screen is, it almost neutralizes some of the F-keys and some in the top row.
I usually leave the backlighting off, or turn it *way* up so the light is brighter than what the screen is. With the backlight off, it's much easier to read; with the text on the keys looking black (instead of the same color as the LCD light) under the glow of the screen.
