Yes, we used them for a rocket launch in the desert. The main distinguishing feature is that these (CF-31 and related) are fully dust proof, the fan of a normal laptop will pull in dust and die. These were certainly slower to use, but we were just hacking around small bugs as they caused issues.

I did use a lighter version of Toughbook back in 2007 (bought it for weight of just 1.3 kg, and passive cooling). There was no annoying noise, but a slowed CPU, which made it slower than average. Mandriva Linux was too fat for it, but WinXP worked fine.

Unfortunately, they discontinued the lighter version.

Mostly useless.

They are hideously expensive, the specs are really not great, the keyboards and displays are meh, and the trackpads are obnoxiously bad.

They are for using in the field where damage is expected.

So you might want that if your programming is tuning car ECU during races, or you do your programming on a sailboat while crossing the Atlantic. Otherwise they’re just underpowered back-breakers.