Early in the war in Iraq, a firefight broke out in a neighborhood that had supposedly been secured by coalition forces. As bullets whizzed by, a U.S. soldier did what came naturally: He held up his laptop computer, a Toughbook 72 from Panasonic Computer Solutions Co. (MC ) Unlike most plastic-covered laptops, this "semi-rugged" model has a hard magnesium shell and steel-reinforced innards. The improvised shield did the trick. "There's a bullet lodged in his hard drive," marvels Maria Leadingham, who manages technology for the Civil Affairs Psychological Operations Center at Fort Bragg, N.C. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2003/tc20030411_8705_tc004.htm
and
In April 2003, a soldier was carrying a CF-M34 Toughbook on his hip in an unarmored Humvee. A 7.62mm round ripped through the vehicle's door and buried itself in the computer. Thanks to the Toughbook's magnesium casing, the bullet pierced the outer case, cracked through the LCD's glass screen and cratered the left side of the keyboard. But it didn't make it all the way through and it didn't enter the soldier.
The executives at Panasonic's Kobe, Japan, factory love this story. They told it to me several times during a recent tour of their production floor.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/upgrade/1279251.html
Yeah, but a magnesium frame along with batteries that spontaneously combust doesn't sound like anything I'd want on my lap.