There was once a time when superstar DJs required a fleet of vans to lug their vinyl collection around the world. The equipment wasn't cheap and only the best could afford the latest gear. The digital music revolution has brought about a massive change in the way in which DJs operate. Portability has become paramount with one pocket-sized hard drive carrying the equivalent of lorry load of vinyl.
As equipment gets cheaper and computers more powerful, there has been a massive increase in the number of bedroom DJs. Internet radio stations hosted from students' bedrooms continue to grow, and packed nightclubs are played to with little more than a laptop and midi interface. Meanwhile social networking and music websites like Myspace and SoundCloud mean that more and more people can share mixes.
Many now-famous DJs have made their careers out of the change that digital DJing brought about. You need a tough computer which can withstand all the knocks it will get once it travels with you on your international DJing expeditions. Software will also affect the way in which you mix. Many find Traktor quick and easy to learn and compatible with the majority of DJing hardware. For those on a slightly bigger budget something like Serato can let you mix music digitally via special time-encode vinyl' through your normal record player.
Power is also important when choosing a laptop to mix with, Roberto explains. Consider something with plenty of RAM and a decent processor. A good value for money option would be the Toshiba Satellite Windows 7 laptop which is geared up specifically for entertainment purposes. You should find the 4GB of RAM and i7 processor more than capable of coping with whatever you throw at it.
For those with deeper pockets the Acer Aspire Ethos won't disappoint. The LED backlit screen should come in particular handy when playing in dark club environments. Finally, there are machines like the Dell XPS 17, which once fully upgraded can carry a quad-core i7 processor and up to 16GB of RAM. This is a laptop for those who aren't considering a powerful desktop at home, think it more an all in one computing solution letting you DJ, play games, blu-rays or whatever else you fancy.