That seems quite excessive...to what do you attribute this attrition rate? Shock during transit? Unknown?
But there's a lot of small form desktop boxes these days, for example there's this Acer that's a little rocket and built for connections.
What kind of laptop do you get? If you are hard on them, a manufacturer’s warranty (emphasis on MANUFACTURER’s, not store brand) comes in handy. A Panasonic Toughbook could take any kind of abuse you heap on it. Typically, I have found that the screen is NOT the problem in laptops, but problems releated to heat buildup in the case (hard drive failure, bad memory,etc.), although inverter boards (which help make the screen work) are sometimes a problem.
A Mac mini would be a good choice if it rtuns your software (and you don’t get a laptop). I have not tried Acer’s Windows version.
If you’re willing to carry an external screen with you, why not just do so with the laptop, once the onboard screen fails? Also, why do you think the screens are failing? I’ve always bought IBM laptops (including used and refurbished ones) and have NEVER had a screen failure in probably 20-25 laptop-years.
You can get a used IBM Thinkpad, with a good battery for $50 on ebay. They are disposible.
With a cube you need an external mouse, keyboard and screen. Not very portable. Laptops very nice. Everthing you need built in. If Vista is loaded on it (which it probably will be) settle for nothing less than 2 gigs of memory and a 256kb video card for a nice descent running system
I advise getting the laptop. You won’t be sorry.