In the DJ community, turntables are being replaced with laptops, and even iPods. Several DJ magazines have begun to cover this trend, but I find it humorous that for me, I seem to be doing the reverse, going from the desktop to the turntables (although they are CD). Regardless, there are plenty of great tools to use a laptop to DJ with both online and offline (a topic I will be writing about soon…)
In the meantime there are a few good resources in the mean time and articles of software programs that allow you to DJ without buying all of the expensive equipment. Here is one recent article from download.com (a part of the CNET network), and another article from PC Magazine. Although no book exists for what a Desktop DJ (a term I’ve coined to talk about those who DJ using their laptops or desktops online or offline), a really good book that talks about DJing is How to DJ Right: The Art and Science of Playing Records. These three resources help begin to get your feet wet in DJing digitally, and I highly recommend reading them if your interested.