In store trial - What is worthwhile to test out?

Looking into getting a new laptop, early research stages (been reading various forum's FAQs for last week), figured it would be smart to try out a few laptops in-store to get a feel for them (no particular makes/models in mind), wondering what would be useful to look for, basically what should I play with?

Matte vs. gloss screens would prove difficult due to their lighting I imagine, clearly the Internet would prove better for checking specs and pricing, but outside of just hacking away at a transcript of the idle chatter going on around me for a feel of the keyboard I'm not sure what else would prove worthyto try out.

What do you guys think would help for a notebook novice looking to buy inside the next 2-3 weeks?
/All advice welcome, thanks.


peace,