large cases of rackmounted effects units. With advances in computer processing power and in software-based audio tools and instruments, the live PA artist in the 2010s can pack a single laptop (loaded with digital audio workstation software and digital effects and mixers) into a bag, go out to a venue that has a house sound reinforcement system and perform a show. This possibility creates a point of discussion, as the ability to perform one's own music live using a single, generic device creates yet another range of performative styles. On one end, a laptop-based performer has the option of simply playing a polished, premade audio file that she or he prepared in the recording and editing studio. On the other end, the performer can be creating sound completely from scratch using software-based synthesizers, sequencers, etc. Somewhere in the middle is where the majority of performance setups fall. Incredibly popular is the software tool Ableton Live. This gives a laptop-based performing artist the ability to sequence and trigger software synthesizers, external MIDI-controlled instruments, and internally stored sampled audio clips and loops. This can all be achieved in real-time, with the resulting audio being manipulated by Ableton Live's mixer and effect processors. The feasibility of using a laptop computer as an all-in-one electronic music creation and performance tool created a massive wave of new artists, performers, and performance events. An international contest known as the Laptop Battle has gained momentum. Degree of "liveness" A topic of debate amongst listeners, critics, and artists themselves is to what degree a performance is actually "live". A possible determining factor could be the degree to which the performing artist has real-time control over individual elements of the final musical output. Using this criterion, an artist who mimics or mimes the playing of instruments whilst simply having a prerecorded CD or digital audio track sound over the PA system or broadcast, might not be considered particularly "live" by most people. On the far opposite end of the spectrum, some artists choose to take only an idea or motif (e.g. a bassline, rhythm pattern, or chord progression), realize it from scratch with electronic instruments on-the-spot, and then build upon it, modify it, and continue in this way for the entire performance. This requires a degree of discipline, technical musical skill and creativity to achieve. Additionally, some electronic musicians are also able to play keyboards, percussion and other conventional