Here's the workaround I found myself, in case somebody is interested.
Install the runit package, which seems to handle utmp better than
upstart does, copy the /etc/sv/getty-5 directory that comes with it to
/etc/sv/getty-1 through getty-4 and getty-6, modify the run and finish
scripts and the super
Confirmed on an Asus A8Js with Kubuntu 7.10: Tray icon's volume slider
has no effect on the speakers' volume. Fn volume and mute keys cause the
OSD to pop up correctly, but the speakers' volume is unaffected.
Guys: I think this bug deserves at least a Medium importance
classification. It seems a l
