Rikki, softsynths in many ways are similar to hardware synths, e.g., Edirol's Hyper Canvas vs Sound Canvas module, etc. You can edit the sounds and call them up via your sequencer or style player.

If you are going to use a Laptop then you will need to invest in an external soundcard and possibly a firewire hard drive. You would need a fast hard drive for softsynths like Kontakt, Halion, GigaStudio, etc. These samplers stream from the hard drive as you hit the notes on your midi controller keyboard.

There is no doubt that more and more entertainers are using laptops for live performances. An example might be:
http://www.daviddas.com/index2.html

You see Rikki you could abandon your KN!!!

[This message has been edited by Frank L. Rosenthal (edited 01-10-2004).]