Laptop computers are becoming increasingly popular for writing, recording, producing, and performing music. Used in conjunction with today's popular music-creation software (such as Reason, Ableton Live, Sonar, Cubase, Pro Tools, and others) and a host of compact, portable hardware devices (preamps, MIDI controllers, break-out boxes, etc.), laptop computers are capable of the kind of recording wizardry that, just a few short years ago, would have been found only in expensive studios. And in the last few years, laptops have taken their place among other instruments on the performance stage--where loops, rhythms, and additional parts, triggered from the computer, join the other instruments (guitar, drums, singers, etc.) in the creation of live music.