cool feet by bluelounge (photo: me)
I picked up a set of cool feet by bluelounge from the NextByte Apple shop at Broadway in Sydney about a month back to test for my baby macbook when I wasn’t at home (and a temporary solution while I awaited the arrival of an Apple keyboard and the elevator from Griffin). Prior to getting these little things I was using four minidiscs to prop up the rear of the macbook to increase cooling. This worked though was not exactly optimal so when I saw the little cool feet I grabbed them. At around $AU20 they’re an absolute bargain.
The minidisc stack - homemade macbook cooling assistance from TDK (photo: me)
The cool feet package contains the little red bag to hold the feet in when on the move, two large feet, two small feet and four adhesive backed discs of the relevant sizes to match the feet. The discs are attached to the laptop’s base to ensure that there is a firm location for the suction cups of the feet to stick to. The feet themselves are made out of a plasticy material that does not slip easily when on most surfaces, making it a sturdy platform to work from. The big problem with the newer laptops is that there is so much heat needed to be dissipated compared to their slower counterparts. While there are improvements being made, there is still a large correlation between speed and heat. Allowing air flow through underneath the laptop by separating the base from the table (normally great heat insulators), or even legs (ouch that’s hot!), aids the natural cooling of the laptop and lowers the strain being placed on the machine.
Ergonomics were also an issue with my macbook when on the minidisc stacks. While this method allowed the rear of the macbook to rise and get some air flow, the method was doing nothing for reducing the strain on the wrists. By giving the whole laptop height, and a little bit of a slant, the keyboard is brought to the natural position found in most desktop computer keyboards, allowing for longer stints at the computer.
End game: well worth the money (photo: me)
I’ve really not yet found a problem with these little things. The only thing you need to remember is not to stick the feet together when putting them back in their pouch as the plastic can warp a little and take some time to return to normal once you get them out. Additionally, I rarely used them for with the macbook on my lap - these are mainly used for assistance on table tops. They’re not life changing - but they do make keeping your laptop cooler a lot easier. For their price they’re a great deal for a real solution, and a little cheaper than what I paid for my magic minidisc stack.
wait wait wait…
you paid $20 for some “feet” for your laptop, and then wrote a review of them?
and people dispute that only wankers buy macs?
stu, you are too cool with the second car for parts in your driveway
…?
not all of us can drive TURBO DIESELS!
he’s right joel
the time you spent writing a review on suction cups that you can buy for $2 from Bunnings is time that you can NEVER have back, it’s gone….
Care factor’s about zero foster. You don’t hear me whining about the costs of chicken sandwiches.
i wrote that at work so officially its not wasting my personal time.
BIFFTEK!!!
I am going to buy adultshop’s surplus portable buttplugs, bung on some double sided tape, and flog them as ‘laptop feet’.
foiled again!!! it appears foster purchased the entire buttplug stock.
‘portable buttplugs’?
as opposed to the larger, stalactite-sized, stationary variety you need to use?
ohya!
joel
fix your website, it cuts off the left hand margin of the page, and dont give me no rubbish about me needing to use FIREFOX.
you should be programming it so everyone can see it. Either that or use myspace. You know you love it. Stu does too.
Do you have to use the adhesive discs in order to stick them on? I would really prefer not to. I want these to cool my iBook, but I don’t want to put stickers on the bottom of my Mac. Thanks for any help you can provide.
@shaun: I put the discs on, didn’t really have a problem, but they work ok without, depending on where you decide to place the feet. Obviously it can’t be on a curved section or a break where the suction won’t hold. Part of the reason I put mine on was to put the feet where I thought that they should be.
Thanks for the feedback…Like I said I’ve got an iBook so it should not be a problem finding a place to put them under there. i think I’ll order today
np mate. Hope you get good use from them.
I picked up a set of these for my 17″ Powerbook in Bangkok for about $5 but I would easily pay $20 for these great little ’suckers’.
Very ‘cool’ and simple.