Many of us laptop users use our portable companions equally as desktops while at home, hooking them up to external monitors and extra drives. Here's a space saving solution which reduces the desktop footprint of your MacBook, MacBook Air, or even up to a 17" MacBook Pro: the BookArc.
BookArc gently holds a closed MacBook with silicone cushions to keep it in place and with the side upfront, so you can easily access the CD/DVD drive, while connections situated in the rear give your laptop the appearance of a desktop unit. A heavy gauge steel stand with a 10"x4" footprint, the $49.99 BookArc is the first laptop stand that we've even considered replacing our much beloved mStand with (but not really, because we still like having the extra open monitor option). But if we had a 30" Cinema Display, the BookArc would be seriously on our list of space optimizing accessories.
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Wait, how do I get my MacBook Pro to run while it is completely shut? I haven't been able to do this, while it is connected to an external monitor.
mcfly:
if you google InsomniaX for mac it's an app that lets you close your computer and not have it sleep. I've used it for a while, but you will have to dim the screen on your own, it wont do that for you. Good luck!
Or just plug make sure that you have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and power cord attached. Then when you close your monitor just press the spacebar to wake it up.
No extra software needed.
The IKEA Fantastik Napkin Holder does the same job for $1.99 and looks quite elegant and maclike. The mStand is, as you correctly noted, in a whole different category.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50107051