I bought a cooling pad with double fans in it. Makes a tremendous difference in the temp. I got it in anticipation of the impending hot weather, it is going to 91F Sat. here, and no AC away from the dock. Any of you use these? Mine plugs into a USB port, and it’s “COOL” 
Yeah, I have one that sounds exactly like that. You can really tell when
you’re not using it, because the wrist-rest area gets really, really warm.
Seems like it could extend the life of the machine (at least, due to heat
damage).
My wife has one for her laptop. Works great. I don’t like laptops.
why don’t you like laptops, I wouldn’t have anything else. I love the portability, the wireles, the movies, phone, all in one neat little package. And they use way less energy and they like 12 volt systems. But to each his own 
I was curious, too. Their keyboards and touchpads are pretty unergonomic,
I guess. Of course, you could always plug in a nice wireless keyboard/mouse…
I’ve used a cooling pad (sounds like the same one you purchased) for over a year. Not only because of keeping ME cool - but because my laptop tends to run hot and shut down when it gets too bad.
I hadn’t heard of the cooling pads, but they sound like a good idea. I have both a laptop and rackmount PC, and both are running all day. I prefer the PC over the laptop any day, and I won’t use wireless until they find a way to make it secure. I have enough trouble keeping my banking information safe on the PC let alone broadcast it to the neighbourhood over wireless.
djm
Because… ?
I don’t disagree, I’m just curious why people feel more comfortable with the
PC experience. I had heard that laptop sales are far outstripping PC sales,
now that they cost less than a PC+monitor… So I was curious what keeps
some people away from laptops.
I am not “away from laptops”. As I said, I use one of each all day long. I like my CRT monitor much better than my laptop (I have a 21" thin screen for the laptop). I prefer a full sized 101 keyboard (which I have for both laptop and PC) and a regular, old, two-button mouse (which I have for both laptop and PC). I like that I can add and remove boards (and associated functionalities) with my PC. I can add/change out CD/DVD/hard drives easily on my PC. I don’t have to worry about heat with my PC (I’ve never seen cooling pads for a PC. Have you? 
)
If laptop sales are soaring, I am guessing it is because there are more users who don’t want to be/are afraid of messing with their PC, and who possibly value the mobility of a laptop over the extensibility of a PC. To each their own, I’m sure.
djm
I had a Toshiba that did that. Annoying.
You know what I mean… I’m not being very elocution-y today.
As I said, I use one of each all day long. I like my CRT monitor much better than my laptop (I have a 21" thin screen for the laptop). I prefer a full sized 101 keyboard (which I have for both laptop and PC) and a regular, old, two-button mouse (which I have for both laptop and PC).
If you have a docking station you can get these just like with a PC. So that
might account for that part of laptop acceptance.
I like that I can add and remove boards (and associated functionalities) with my PC. I can add/change out CD/DVD/hard drives easily on my PC.
True, though with USB so well-supported now, that’s less of an issue, I
guess, at least for casual upgraders. I used to build my own systems, but
the fun and cost-effeciency of that have been largely minimized.
I don’t have to worry about heat with my PC (I’ve never seen cooling pads for a PC. Have you? >
I’ve heard of water-cooled PCs, which is the same idea. Heat’s a problem
with any system. Have you seen the kind of airflow designs rackmount
server manufacturers will use? It looks like one of those Bose Waveguide
radios inside some of those!
If laptop sales are soaring, I am guessing it is because there are more users who don’t want to be/are afraid of messing with their PC, and who possibly value the mobility of a laptop over the extensibility of a PC.
I guess that should account for it. I’m still a little surprised that laptops have
surpassed PCs on the ol’ sales spreadsheets, what with the ergonomic
problems you mention. Maybe the trend of Universities requiring laptops
for students has helped…
This is a Dell (work furnished). You don’t get a Toshiba unless you are in IT. They try to give you a tiny HP unless you pitch a fit (which I did) to get the Dell.
At work itself, I have a docking station, with a 20" flatscreen, ergo keyboard and mouse, along with assorted label printers, scanner docking stations, etc. All the printers are USB, however, so I can run them with no problems from the laptop, the scanner docking station is serial, however, so they don’t work on the darn tiny HPs (which is why I insisted on the Dell).