It's probably one of the most fundamental advantages of a laptop - the ability to take it anywhere and as the name suggests, use it on your lap if need be. However, recent experience with my MacBook leads me to believe that the term "lap"top simply isn't applicable anymore. In fact, it's downright fraud!

Using it on my lap for anymore than 20 minutes is akin to strapping hot irons to my lap and doing the dance of diabalos until I jump out of the sofa with my thighs throbbing like they've just re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. It's not the kind of lap dance that any laptop user should be subjected to (except maybe Targa laptop owners).

Is a hot lap and a silly dance the only danger of laptop use though? There is scientific evidence to suggest that it might not only be your legs you're frying when lapping it up on your PC or Mac. As far back as 2004, a study by the State University of New York concluded that laptops cause a 1 or 2 degree Fahrenheit increase in scrotum temperature - enough to significantly reduce sperm count and possibly cause fertility problems. The researchers said:

Working on laptop computers in a laptop position causes significant scrotal temperature elevation as a result of heat exposure and posture-related effects.

Heat isn't the only danger however. Electromagnetic radiation is emitted by most large electrical devices and such radiation can cause cancer. Could secret agents simply have killed Alexander Litvinyenko by giving him a Toshiba Satellite laptop instead of going to the trouble of polonium-210? Well, doubtful otherwise we'd all be dead by now but there's definitely a disconcerting lack of study on the subject. One blogger did his own research on the subject and found rather worryingly:

There is a common recommendation though: limit exposure to fields over 2.5 mG. A laptop computer can emit an incredible 150 mG, which is 60 times the recommended amount!

One company called HARApad specializes in providing a special platform for your laptop which can absorb a large part of this excessive radiation.

Finally, if the heat and the radiation don't get you, then the WiFi definitely will. Depending on who you believe that is. Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity is a disorder that's thought to be caused by WiFi signals such as in the case of UK based Pacha DJ Steve Miller who says he's been turned into an "exile" in his own country because of a strong allergic reaction to WiFi waves and devices which leaves him feeling dizzy, sick and disorientated. He eventually holed himself up in a house with 18 inch thick granite walls in Cornwall after claiming he had to "leg-it" every time he detected a WiFi signal.

However, Technology experts such as Steve Smith reject such allergies exist and point out that WiFi signals are no stronger than the average TV, radio or mobile phone signal leading him to conclude:

My first thought, when someone tells me they have an unexplained feeling whenever they’re in a variety of public places that only goes away when they’re at home is not that they’re mysteriously allergic to something that that is present at every point of the earth’s surface, but that they may be agoraphobic.

I wonder too, whether one too many heavy sessions in Ibiza's Pacha may have also had a bearing on Mr Miller's "allergy".

The truth is, as yet there's no conclusive evidence either way that laptops cause serious physical harm but it makes sense to take precautions. As regards radiation, it's a good idea to use an external keyboard (to give you some distance) when using a laptop over a long period of time as the space can seriously lower your exposure. Also, if you use it primarily at home next to a router, why not plug in an Ethernet cable and switch-off your router's WiFi signal?

Finally, to monitor heat on MacBooks, I heartily recommend installing the iStat Nano widget in your dashboard to monitor temperature levels rather than using your legs as human thermometers like I was. PC users can check out my top list of free utilities to keep your laptop cool.

Alternatively, get yourself down to Ikea or local computer shop where you'll find a range of stands and platforms to use your laptop on without things getting steamy.