Heat kills. Specifically, heat kills PCs, which is why proper ventilation is essential. Of course, laptops pack so much high-powered hardware into such a small space, it's no wonder they can get hot enough to make your lap uncomfortable.

Enter the Notebook Cooling Base, a new accessory from...Microsoft?! Yep, it's true, and while not all Microsoft-branded accessories have been home runs (the company's Webcams were widely panned), this one looks like a winner.

Designed for both desktop and laptop use (in the literal senses), the Notebook Cooling Base features a USB-powered fan and a "cooling channel" to help prevent overheating. Thankfully, there's also a cable-management clip to keep the USB cord stowed when not in use.

The NCB will be available in black and white. Microsoft is currently looking at a July ship date and estimated retail price of $29.95--on par with competing laptop coolers from the likes of Antec and Belkin.

Sure, it could prove costly to outfit every laptop-toting person in your organization with a cooler like this. But it would be costlier still to replace laptops that suffered heatstroke.