I've been carrying a laptop on my bike off and on for a decade and pretty much every day for the last 4 years but I use backpacks or messenger bags. I used to carry a pretty big one but now favor a 13" for obvious reasons. I have a 2nd monitor I connect it to at work.
I rarely turn mine off. My last two laptops have had SSD drives in them, but I didn't have a problem with mechanical drives either. The heads are parked when the machines are sleeping.
I put it in a padded sleeve that has minimal storage and a removable shoulder strap. I also carried it in a pannier for a few months last summer. It was a snug fit with the sleave but worked.
Last edited by tjspiel; 02-01-11 at 11:44 AM.