A reader emailed yesterday about the different locations in desks for computer tower systems. While he has his computer on his desk, a relation has bought a desk with a cupboard for the computer just off the desk. His criticism is that it is inconvenient to bend down to insert CDs.

My computer is kept under my desk on the floor, and to be honest inserting CDs is very inconvenient; short cables mean the computer is so far back that I have to almost climb under the desk. Thankfully I don't use that many CDs. If I did I would probably connect an external DVD drive.

Why? Well I prefer to keep my desk as clear as possible and the tower is a little imposing in classic Dell black. A USB hub in my monitor means I can plug everything in that I need and my headset cable reaches under the desk.

There is one big problem with keeping a PC under a desk, heat. Computers generate a lot of this and a reasonable amount of ventilation is a must. I install a low spec computer in someone's once in a very nice oak desk. The only problem was that the computer was to be installed in cupboard. The only holes were for cables, one on the bottom for power and one on the top for keyboard etc. Even this didn't provide any ventilation because there was a cover to tidy the cables.

With the door shut for just 20 minutes when the computer was left idle the temperature began to rise rapidly. Short of drilling out a large hole in the back of an expensive desk, the only thing I could suggest was to leave the door open.

What do you do?