Apple tech support guy says don't run MacBook on your lap.

[designed]

That's just ridiculous. I think most of certain governmental parties designed to protect the consumer would go mad about that statement, especially here in Finland. That's like saying you shouldn't open or close the clamshell of a clamshell mobile phone more than 10 times and thus the manufacturer resigns from the responsibility to make a proper hinge or to repair the thing under warranty. Thankfully there still are statements that protect the consumer.

That said, I use my laptop mostly on a table but sometimes on my lap but in the knees-thigh partment, so my laptop (and precious parts) are well cooled.

"Shouldn't be used on your lap" my a$$...

 

[misterspo]

this has been Apple's stance for years

Apple has taken this position since the early days of the G4 Portables.

It has nothing to do with the MacBook Pro.

You really AREN'T supposed to use it on your lap. Your lap insulates the heat and keeps the system from cooling properly. It's a PORTABLE. You can carry it with you, set it up on a desk anywhere, but nowhere in the manual or product specs does it say this device is designed for use on your lap.

Really.

The single incident on the education sales page is the only reference I've heard of on the Site calling it a laptop. (and I'm certain that will be removed within a few days now that it's been noticed)

Apple isn't the only company doing this, either. Systems are really just too hot to run on your lap. Sorry.

Want a laptop? get an old G3 or Pentium 2. anything else is going to burn you, or be massive to cool the system.

 

[PatrickF]

I'm quite sure that many other PC notebook manufacturers use the same warnings as Apple. Point is that notebooks are getting hotter and the possibility for them to burn you has been around for a long, long time.

Many of the warnings come after at least one lawsuit after someone suffered extensive burns from using a notebook on their lap, if I'm not mistaken (also I think that was a PC notebook.)

Either way just get yourself a cheap flat chopping board and put your notebook on that. I use my notebook on my lap with a wooden chopping board inbetween. This also stabilises the notebook a lot more I find.

 

[ITASOR]

who the hell uses their laptop on their crotch? i use my macbook between my knees and thighs and it's not a problem, sure it gets hot but completely manageable.

me at night when i take my contacts out and can't see farther than that!

 

[weg]

I know, because I accidently left some plastic underneath the computer the first day I used it, and the plastic melted . I got the "portable' versus "laptop" lecture then --

Hmm.. does "portable" in that context mean that you're not supposed to rest it on any surface? (just hold it up in the air all the time).

 

[bill4588]

i use my macbook on my lap all the time and it never gets so hot that it's distracting. the only thing I hate about using it on my lap is that it makes the moo sound....

 

[FF_productions]

It might be doing more harm than you realize.

"A serious case of laptop burn was reported in a letter published in a medical journal two years ago after a 50-year-old man burned his penis while using a laptop balanced on his legs for an hour, despite wearing trousers and underpants."

He must have been using a PowerBook G5.

 

[pianojoe]

My mum always used her ibook on her lap and it developed a cyst (sorry if spelt wrong), but it required an operation and a week in hospital.

You took it to hospital after "it" developed a cyst? My oh my, you really do care for your iBook.

 

[joebells]

I find that using a notebook in your lap is useful sometimes but I really worry about my "area"

 

[Sesshi]

I wonder when there will be the first class action against Apple for toasted nuts and crispy shlongs.

 

[stoavio]

I find that using a notebook in your lap is useful sometimes but I really worry about my "area"

I consider the possibility that it may make me steril temporarily just an added bonus. It reduces the chances of an unwanted pregnancy. When we decide to have a baby, I'll start putting the laptop someplace else.


....I hope the sterilization is only temporarily.

 

[X5-452]

"A serious case of laptop burn was reported in a letter published in a medical journal two years ago after a 50-year-old man burned his penis while using a laptop balanced on his legs for an hour, despite wearing trousers and underpants."

He must have been using a PowerBook G5.

You mean they do exist? So, PowerBook G5's next tuesday?

 

[rob5]

Get an iLap. Problem solved.

 

[needlnerdz]

MJ said so.. so it must be true...

I interned at mens journal last summer, and recalled an issue that gave 99 health tips for guys. This is where I learned about the bizzare danger of having a laptop on your lap..

http://www.mensjournal.com/feature/0508/healthTips.html

but to save you the clicking time:

"You may want to take that laptop off your lap. Portable computers can heat up to 158 degrees inside. After an hour, that can raise the temperature of your testes by 3.6 degrees, nearly twice what it takes to harm fertility."

- is it really all that cumbersom to carry around a phone book, to stash between your laptop and procreativities?...

 

[Sun Baked]

Since people are likely to go Darwin and ignore the warning labels ...

I'd almost like to see Apple add, "Warning, do not use sharp objects near your crotch." or, "Caution using pliers on your nuts may cause discomfort."

 

[EricNau]

"A serious case of laptop burn was reported in a letter published in a medical journal two years ago after a 50-year-old man burned his penis while using a laptop balanced on his legs for an hour, despite wearing trousers and underpants."

It took him an hour to figure it out?

 

[celebrian23]

I want to know how many of us who use our laptops on our laps put it on our crotch? Mine rests on my thighs+kness...never on my crotch.