This is the laptop cooler I made by modifying a Belkin F8N044-BRN CushTop Notebook Stand. I bought it at over 50% off at an office supply place going out of business. It's made of a dense foam covered in cloth which was a lot easier to cut than I had anticipated. With some of the leftover foam and cloth, my wife made 3 little blocks to perch the laptop slightly up so the air can get around - works perfect! Fans are 2 120MM cheap CoolerMaster brand that came with a case - they glow blue when on. The 12v DC wallwart and switch I had lying around. And the green circle is a cap from a 1 liter soda bottle. In hindsight, I wish I would have cut the fabric in an X pattern, then cut out the foam. Then I could have simply folded the fabric inside and it would have looked a lot cleaner - but really, you never see it if it's doing it's job, and it gives me an excuse to try to make a V2 All the laptop coolers I've tried (A handful of $20 - $30 models) have either failed on me completely or just didn't do the job. And the ones that would do the job, were fairly expensive ($45+ - more then I'd want to pay for what it does). Total cost of this: $9 - the original cost of the stand, I had everything else lying around. Though if you had to buy everything, it MIGHT end up costing $20 total.

The coolest thing I have purchased lately. This little gem costs $13 at Big Lots. Plugs into a USB port on the laptop. Runs almost completely silent and totally solves the "hot laptop on the lap" issue. It is even very light weight. The person who told me about it carries one in his laptop bag. I use it at home, on the couch, where I do nearly all of my computer stuff. It has silicone "feet" on the top and bottom, one set to grip the base of the laptop and one set for the table. It seems cheap, but there is very little to fail. Just two fans, a switch, and a USB plug. Plus it's hollow, providing an insulated airspace between the laptop and the lap. I like this thing.