That's why...

...they don't call them laptops any more. All the cool kids (ahem) are calling them 'notebooks'

Not all of them

Check out some of BenQ's designs. They put the inlet vent at the front. Very interesting design :).

Ah...

...but consider the possibilities for accessory makers! Apart from that, my Acer is on my desk 90% of the time. I've propped it's rear end up on an old Heriba capodaster for better air circulation, but my screen nonetheless did the flickerbicker thing yesterday evening. New fan... add a cooler... best cooler though has proved to be the big ventilator I use in the summer.... :)

Keyboard!

The keyboard should be the obvious way to get air into the thing. It's full of holes anyway, so why not use them?

Then there's the problem of what to do with the hot air.. I think the MacBook has the best solution I've seen so far: exhaust on the inside of the screen hinge (if that makes any sense at all, I blame my English on being Swedish).

AT adds: And I blame my Swedish on IKEA.

Ooooh...

Sounds like someone got out of bed the wrong side this morning... whats up? stub your toe on your lappy? :)

Exactly

Too bloody right, i've never understood it, I mean even if it's on a desk, surely it would be better to suck from the side?

Its laziness

Im sure its laziness, they think along the lines of "we're selling enough laptops, why should we change".

Wrong kind of laptop?

I have an iBook and a ASUS Eee PC. Both have air inlets on the side not the bottom so perhaps you are buying the wrong type of Laptop?

or....

how about completely disassembling an HP to replace a 3 buck CMOS Battery

Already been done.

There are at least a few laptops out there that are already designed like that. Almost all of the new-model Dells have hidden vents in the tops; and have you ever taken apart a Lenovo Thinkpad? Their fans draw just as much air from the top as from the bottom.

So True

Indeed, so true. I have a P4 HP with a s478 and it WILL over heat and shut down if not used on a flat surface. "Desktop Replacement Mobile PC" baby.

Tops? not until your notebook runs on java.

You neglect to think that aside from users invariably using notebooks on surfaces they ought not to, this is why the industry moved away from calling them laptops once tech got toasty, they also eat and drink while using them so until laptops become omnivorous we ought not have opening into the innards on top.
Case in point my girlfriends ibook would have choked on her chicken soup which i quite enjoyed.

And...

So many suppliers of laptops either include with the unit a powersupply that is so large and so heavy that you might as well be carrying a small anvil, or alternatively, they ship a laptop with a power lead so short that you practically have to lie on the floor if you want to be plugged in and work at the same time.

Design. If it's pretty and expensive, it MUST be good.

bottom air vents

As a laptop designer, the main reasons to put cooling solutions on the bottom are typically cost and to preserve I/O. To get the heat out of the box on a side usually requires a remote heat exchanger assembly (heat pipe, heat exchanger, and fan). This typically adds cost to the system. Also, anytime you use the edges for cooling you also give up valuable I/O space.

AT asks: Why not put the USB connectors on the side of the display, freeing up space on the base unit for cooling vents?

Air Vents

It takes a bit more work and a bit more cost (not that much more) to integrate the heat sink into a metal frame in direct contact with air (no plastic trim over it) that surrounds the laptop and radiate heat from the side and the areas not touched by hands on the side and top of the keyboard.

That should reduce the need for cooling enough to permit much smaller vents (on the side and back) that draws cool air from the front or via the keyboard.

A certain amount of work need to be done to keep dust and debris from causing failures, but that is not an insurmountable problem.

With the next generation of laptops and the drastically reduced power consumption, a much better thermal design is possible if some vendor will put the $$$ into tightly engineering an integrated solution.

The state of the art today: components slapped on a metal frame that is then covered up with plastic smacks of stone age levels of systems integration.

display USB ports

Putting USB ports on the display poses a number of challenges. First, the thickness of a USB connector is typically thicker than the desired thickness for the display. Second, the USB signals have to be brought to the display through the hinge, which doesn't provide for alot of extra cabling. These cables must be well shielded or EMI scans will fail. Decent cabling must be used to ensure minimal insertion loss and reflection, otherwise the USB compliance tests will fail. All of this adds up to extra cost.

Lol

"AT asks: Why not put the USB connectors on the side of the display, freeing up space on the base unit for cooling vents?"

Lol because the display is where the display goes :S
If you were to try to add USB or any other ports to the display your either going to have to make the screen smaller so theres more excess around the edge of the screen to fit ports in (Eee PC is a possible candidate) or your going to give the laptop a big bulge where the port sits behind the LCD panel.

I'm sure there are plenty of good reasons as mike mentioned and as someone else mentioned there are some laptops that do pull air from the side.

Still, the Dell Inspiron 1420 I'm on now pulls air from underneath AFAIK and expells it out to the left however theres plenty of space on the front for intake there, although that would be prone to sucking in the crumbs from my toast :P

Agreed...

I once had this VIA C3 based lappy (can't remember who made it, possibly EISystems?) and basically if you rested it on anything other than a desk then it'd overheat, throttle and invariably lock up. One day the AC plug became just a little too warm and bent right off when removing the jack - just out of warranty, too.

Got this old PII based laptop made by some generic manufacturer, inlets in the front, CD tray and USB ports on the side, outlet on the other side, various other connectors on the back. Perfect. A shame it was beige, though.

Moist Lappys are Bottom Feeders

It's true and they quite often suck.

I call mine Monica.

I say give them gills and make them submersive. Get back, now, Nessie! ore I loch ya down for the night.

Big Deal

Just buy an el-cheapo plastic kitchen cutting board at the local grocery store and place you Laptop on that if you have a problem with air flow. My board is a bit too wide which makes a nice place for the mouse.

Most plastic one have a built in "carry handle" which is nice.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_008L0025000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Cookware,Bakeware&Gadgets&sName=Cooking%20Tools%20&%20Gadgets&psid=NEXTAG01&sid=IDx20070921x00003j

Rant on!

I agree! I can't place any laptop onto my bed with me or on the floor or couch, even ones with side vents, they get blocked by linen!!! The guy who suggested venting through the keyboard had a good idea, although it would be best to exhaust through the keyboard, to prevent sucking up any dirt from the fingers...

Also Mr. Mike Thorpe, a notebook is a laptop! They call it a notebook as a selling strategy as in the size is the same size and almost the same weight as a notebook for college or work! Also "cool kids" are drones of the media and do as they're told, like "you must use Vole Vista and to do so you must upgrade your ALL of your hardware!"

I've messed around with plenty of laptops and another big problem I have is the area where the RAM is located gets hot, extremely hot! I would not mind my laptop being slightly thicker so 2 additional fans and ducting could be added to help cool the whole thing down!

Cost Not The Reason

"As a laptop designer, the main reasons to put cooling solutions on the bottom are typically cost and to preserve I/O. To get the heat out of the box on a side usually requires a remote heat exchanger assembly (heat pipe, heat exchanger, and fan)."

Odd, my laptop has all of those, yet sucks all its cooling air from the bottom. I am sure there are times where cost dictates cooling designs, but looking at how my laptop is laid out internally, all it would have taken is a few air vents on the sides to give it an alternative cooling path.

One thing by the way I have found that helps keep my laptop cool, is I drop the clock speed most of the time to half speed. Surfing the web does not take a whole lot of power, and a simple click sends it back up to full speed. So it runs a lot cooler even when it is operating in a less than ideal environment, like laying on the bed.

Lenovo T-series

I've had several Lenovo (formerly IBM) T-series notebooks; they all draw air from the side and eject it through the rear.

Thinkpad T Advertising??

Well looks like this article
tends to be at the end of the
day a Thinkpad T Advertising.
I have a Thinkpad T61p
and i can use it over the bed
or my lap (except when playing
gear of wars or other exigent game).
I didn't tested other brands.
Asus EEE will work excelent i
suposse in your laps.
May be you have a pentium 4 laptop or something, whact up the heat
for your childrens. :)

agreed

As already stated at one time laptops were designed better.

I have a Fujitsu Lifebook 280dx from 1997. It has an exhaust fan on the side. The thing has never overheated on me.

Bummer the CD drive died on it, though...

I also had a Dell Latitude CPx that used the sides for ventillation.

The difference with these laptops is that they had modular drive bays in the front. The battery was also in the front. Nowadays, most batteries are on the back side making it impossible to put ports there.

Laptop/Notebook manufacturers should care this

I too find that when the laptops are placed on bed or sofas.. laptop starts heating. If you keep it for longer time then chances of catching fire is really high.. How about having vents on all six directions??