Hasta La Gadget!

You might be surprised to hear that I think laptop desks are a pretty good idea, especially when you consider them to be little more than tea-trays, and uni-tasking tea-trays at that.

You will be less surprised to hear that I think that buying laptop desks is a terrible idea, even if they are as sleek  as the Cushdesk from Belkin. The name aptly sums up the design — it’s simply a small flat surface with a cushion stuck to the bottom.

The problem is that it costs $30, and that’s $30 you could be spending on beer instead of just squandering it. Reading the features list shows just how much spin is needed just to come up with a mere four bullet points. Sample: “Its slim design allows for easy storage in your home but with its stylish design, you may want to display it around the house.”

Better to roll your own, and — in the words of Blue Peter’s Lesley Judd* — here’s one we made earlier. It’s a beauty:

I made this a while back from an old aluminum baking tray, and in its original incarnation it was just that — a plain metal sheet on which to rest a MacBook Pro. The aluminum is perfect for “wicking away” heat from the hot underside of the computer and even in plain form keeps things cool enough to sit atop your legs. However, a modification was in order. Remember the Laptop Lifters, those slug-like rubber lozenges which keep the air flowing under the notebook? That’s what you can see in the photo — I removed them from my MacBook as I didn’t like the extra height but there was enough stick left on them to attach to the tray.

Now, it is the perfect size for any machine, including the Lady’s white MacBook. Better, it means we can watch movies in bed without anything mechanical overheating. Well, without anything mechanical and computer-shaped overheating.

Product page [Belkin via Gearlog]

See Also:

• Laptop Lifts Lift Low Laptops
• Hands-On With Laptop Lifts

*Sorry, readers outside the UK and/or under 30 years old. This joke is not for you.