Slightly off the topic of hardware vs software. I do love seeing it when bands auction off their equipment and people go "hey, they were using Line 6 PODs? but those are cheap?!". NIN was no exception I mean sure they had some costly stuff backing them up too (Reznor is Reznor afterall) but I remember seeing Pitchshifter sell a load of gear and it was all cheap BOss pedal knockoffs and Line 6. And it didn't matter one bit because they still were an awesome live band who sounded awesome. You see Korg Mini's everywhere on stages.
There is a certain snobbishness that goes with hardware that just doesn't translate to the actual production of music and 'playing' music live. As I said I'm not a fan of laptop performers, but at least that person is up there thinking 'What I'm doing on this is worth my time and the audiences'* rather than hiding at home with £10,000 worth of power sucking vintage equipment.

*could also be thinking "ha, these suckers are falling for it, I'm just checking my emails"