Ok, before I get lambasted for for spreading FUD, know that I did this really just as a lark (though it was born of a concern). I have been using my MacBook (100 Gig, 7200 RPM drive, 2 Gig RAM) in the lid-closed method and driving an external monitor. I just happened to open the clam and noticed that not only was it warm as usual in the upper-left corner, but the entire keyboard was quite warm (I dare say hot in places). I started wondering if it would be any problem using the MacBook for extended periods of time with the lid closed. I decided to open the lid partially and continue to use it and am not really that worried about the heat in this mode.
After some reading here, I decided to download CoreDuoTemp just to see where my machine is running. At about idle (less than 10% CPU usage) the machine was running around 65-66C. Ok, so I now I know, so what? If it is supposed to run warm, so be it.
Out of curiosity, I started wondering how much of the heat was normally dissipated out of the keyboard. I have a few of those little usb fans (the brand I have are Kensington FlyFans) that I purchased off of Woot back when they first started selling. I had purchased them on a lark to give to some friends. I happened to still have a new one here so I opened it up and pointed it at my keyboard and let it run. After about 15 minutes, my temperature has dropped from 65C to 47C and remains there fairly steady right now.
While I am not advocating that everyone go out and buy little usb fans nor am I about to leave it on mine full time, I still find it interesting. It seems that a bit of heat is dissipated through the keyboard. It is also possible that some of the air is blowing into the vents though the majority is on the keyboard itself by the way I have it positioned.
So, what does this prove? Not much I guess, but it at least provided me with a temporary diversion.
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