Cool down your Macbook and Macbook Pro

Apple lately seems to be hell bent in frying their users' balls (if they have them) with their latest Intel-based portables. They have received complaints about the scalding hot bottoms and tops of the new Macbooks and Macbook Pros. I've heard in one podcast that the standard reply of some Apple dealers is that the Macbooks are 'portable computers' and not laptops hence they shouldn't be put on the laps of their users. That's a pretty lame answer.

I honestly don't have the actual stastic of how many users are complaining about their hot Macbooks/Pros but I see this topic often in the different Apple/Mac related websites that I have subscribed to. These people might just be a vocal minority or perhaps they are indeed a representative of the whole.

As far as I know, a friend of mine is complaining about his too-warm-for-comfort Macbook Pro and another friend of mine has a Macbook and when I borrowed it for a bit, the bottom was becoming uncomfortably warm.

Apple doesn't seem to be doing anything to solve this problem. They might have their hands full with the less than one percent 5.5G iPod shipped that has a Windows worm installed or the stock options controversy.

One guy got fed up with this issue that he decided to write an application that will stop thighs and eggs being fried. Hendrik Holtmann created smcFanControl, now at it's version 1.2, to control your Macbook(Pro)'s fans as well as monitor the temperature of the unit. He has provided a FAQ page that will answer some of the questions regarding installation and the software's use.

I heard on the MyMac.com podcast episode 104 that Tim Robertson (I think) used this application and has set the fan speed to 3035 rpm and has cooled his Macbook Pro considerably, from 145-degrees Fahrenheit (62.8 Celsius) to 96 to 100 Fahrenheit (35.6 to 37.8 Celsius). That's a big improvement.

So for those with problems with really hot Macbooks and Macbook Pros, you can try smcFanControl. Download it here.

Oh, the cost is really good. It's free.