If you use the userspace built in CPU scaler, you can use userspace daemons to control your CPU frequency. Some of the daemons are powernowd and cpufreqd. There are many others which can be seen here.

You can also use just the kernel interface to adjust your CPU frequency through custom scripts and the command line. To set the scaling governor to userspace execute

echo userspace > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor

To see the current frequency execute

cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_cur_freq

The available frequencies can be seen with

cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_frequencies

To set the current frequency use

 echo 2000000 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_setspeed

Here is a link on the Thinkpad Wiki that show you how to make use of Dynamic Frequency Scaling that is not really specific to Thinkpads at all. It's a good general resource if you want to play around with this stuff. If you get adventurous enough too compile your own kernel, compile in (not as module) the performance, powersave, ondemand, userspace and conservative governers. Also compile ACPI P States (not as module). The last one will complain that some dependency of it is a module, so go back to the ACPI page and compile Processor in (not as module) and then go back and select ACPI P States to be compiled in (not as a module).