Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Mike-
I'm not sure what you need for a laptop.  Assuming it has a port from 
your sound card and it supports MIDI, I just bought cables from Mars 
Music ($18)which connect to the game/MIDI port on the back of the 
card.  It then has two leads with MIDI plugs that plug into the back 
of the DTX brain.  I used the DTXchange software from Giles and after 
loading the program, loading the kits were a snap - less than 10 
seconds each.  By the way, the MIDI plugs are marked "in" and "out" 
and they plugged into the opposite MIDI inputs on the back of the 
brain (in to out, etc.)  Read the instructions Giles provides on his 
site which show the cables and the steps to follow.
Hope this helps.
Bill