Bebe Barron didn't compose for a decade, but in 1999 she was invited to create a new work at the University of California-Santa Barbara, using the latest in sound-generating technology.

NPR: The Barrons: Forgotten Pioneers of Electronic Music

The process certainly isn't pleasant for musicians who rely on digital technology to compose.

FORBES: Name That Note

If you've set a JooJoo on an exercise bike rack to watch some video or placed the iPad in Apple's keyboard dock to compose some extended text, then a pound won't make much of a difference.

ENGADGET: Switched On: The weighty issues of slates