Fire investigators have determined that a recent (12/15/16) fire at Castleton University was caused by a laptop being left on a bean bag, and overheating.

It's important to remember that your computer needs to "breathe" in order to keep itself cooled. Laptops have air intake/exhaust vents either on the sides, underside, or both in order to pass air through the computer (via a fan) and keep the computer from overheating (on MacBooks the vents are hidden behind where the screen attaches to the keyboard). Placing your computer on a soft surface risks "suffocating" the computer, resulting in overheating and potentially hardware damage to the computer... or worse. Always use your laptop on a hard surface where the rubber feet give sufficient clearance to the vents, and make sure that nothing (cushions, blankets, clothing, etc) block these critical vents.

Dust is also an extremely common culprit which over time builds up in the vents and fan and can clog the computer's cooling system, with the same results. If there are visible signs of dust inside your computer, or it's been a few years since someone checked and you'd like the piece of mind, please contact me to schedule a cleaning.