QOTD: How Should We Test Rugged Laptops?

frisbee, sledding, surfing.

microwaving, blending, shooting it with a 50 cal rifle

prolonged metal fine dust exposure (aluminium foundry)
fall from chest height on metal mesh surface with the monitor open (same)
exposure to chemicals in droplet form (various acids, benzols, acetones)
water on the keyboard (the classical)
hot coffee on the keyboard
40 degrees celsius and direct sunlight plus sand (sahara)
prolonged (many hours) of hard shaking (terrain drive)
pressing buttons in thick gloves with too much force
some tools falling on keyboard and back of monitor(hammer, screwdriver)
static discharge on frame

sand blast it...

The "my friend just tackled me after class for no random reason" test.
As well as the "someone just stood on my laptop because I left it in my bag on the floor" test...

Could also do the "I left my laptop on the bed and by accident pulled the bed sheets underneath which launched it on the floor" test (this is one of my favourite ones (since my laptop actually lived through it XD).

The "I spilled loads of different liquids on my laptop" test could also be useful (recommend water, coffee, orange juice, and beer).

Put it in a backpack with a folder full of notes and other irregular objects. Then go on the bus and not so gentelly (not throwing mind) your bag down every now and again and kick it over etc. Sort of abuse my netbook suffers daily. Also dropped it from the sofa the other day and it survived. I like the idea of water and coffee on the keyboards as well as crumbs. My mum always eats over mine >.> I also think simulating "leaving it in a car during a summer day in direct sunlight" would be worth trying.

See if it will blend

spill milk and coffee on the keyboard, accedently drop it in a bucket of water lol... i'm out... its too early to already be thinking xD

I agree with "2 billion penguins", that's what I would of done.
KrokBandit also has some good ones save the radical chem test and the metal dust as it's inevitble that dust will get in.
I would also like to see how much pressure/weight can the laptop stand ieut loads of bricks over it or run over it with a car/bike.

+1 on KrokBandit - rugged laptops are supposedly designed with these types of conditions in mind. My boss did some on-site development at a medical facility and the dust from manufacturing the tablets got in *everywhere*.

Also, try and use it under 1 meter of water with both gloved and ungloved fingers.

Most the time I'm out on site my laptop is on the floor, some times outdoors or on the grass. So the 3 things I would test are:
Rain, if your out doors and it suddenly starts raining it doesn't matter how fast you are, some water is going to hit it.
Drop some tools on it, an adjustable spanner on both the keyboard and the screen (front and back) from about 1 to 1.5m.
Stand on it, while I've personally never done it if its been left on the floor someones bound to stand on it at some point.

I didn't realise people would go for real world tests. I went with novelty value. Don't I feel the fool!

ooh.. let me think.
Send it through the mail system in a plain non padded envelope.
Give it to a 2 year old to play with
Give it to a Gorilla
Leave it on the Driveway and drive over it
The spilt drink test
Use them as tennis rackets
Leave it ontop of a central heating radiator
Use it in the shower :-)
Use it on the beach in windy weather at high tide
Put it on the back seat and do some serious off-roading.

Being dropped from a number of height's starting with smallest to see how high a drop it can survive.

Dropping it on its screen or dropping things of variable amounts to tell how much force the screen can take.

Test how well the keyboard performs and how easily it can be cleaned and maintained after having sand poured all over it.

See how cool it stays after spending hours under the sun.

1) Use it in the bath-tub while burning a DVD
2) In the kitchen as a cutting platform

Drop it from the top of a stair case and see how it fares after that. I've often come close to tripping up on stairs while carrying laptops etc. so I think it would be a realistic scenario..

Prolonged exposure to rain / outdoor weather is also another obvious one. Also lots of dust, sand, dirt etc. to try and clog it up.. Perhaps a trip to the beach?

Yanked off a table by the power cord. Tests the cord, the connector and the laptop in one easy test.

Also testing the rest of the things that can stick out of it. I.e. downwards pressure on usb, optical tray, audio and network points