Am I the only person who's read all the accident reports about severe passenger injuries due to excessive mass in overhead lockers during severe turbulence or accident.
Personally I take enough reading matter for the flight and the rest goes in the hold - get a decent suitcase with a decent lock on it and accept the wait at the end.
Then again, spending my life working in flight safety assessments may give me an unrealistic view of how important it is to prevent denting a laptop.
G