newbie Q: data transfer methods?!?

I bought a new laptop 2 months ago and it doesnt have anything but USB and parallel ports. I have a compactflash reader for my usb, but i realized i think i wanna buy a 2000xl used (im gonna be a newbie at this stuff) cuz of the sample reverse and time stretch.....BUT how can i transfer my beats to my cpu or whatnot, i wont use a zip drive cuz a zip drive cant connect to my new laptop (no scsi port)...i guess im confused.....

i had a brain fart, im guessing i can just use my parallel cable to connect the zip drive to my PC in order to move beats from the zip drive to my cpu hard drive? is it hard to get my laptop to recognize the zip drive on the parallel port?

If your zip drive is a scsi one then NO you can not connect it to the parallel port of your laptop. If it's a parallel drive though you can connect it to your laptop but not to your MPC.

so it seems theres no real easy way to transfer beats onto my cpu from the MPC 2000xl if i ever want to. I think i may go with the MPC 1000 since i already have some software.

Stay with the 1k. Reverse and time stretch can be in software MUCH faster anyway.

what software in particular works the best with time stretching and reverse ?

There is no "best" whatever is best for you and your production is what you roll with.

I still may buy the mpc 2000xl i want to be able to time stretch and reverse without putting a sample into my pc and then putting it back into the MPC, im assuming the 1000 is easier to start off wit tho from what i hear? and yes i did a search......i figure imma get a USB zip drive for my laptop and buy a 2000xl from ebay used with an internal zip drive....

If you want the XL, you'll need two zip drives, one scsi or atapi one for the mpc and one usb one for the laptop. Or you also have two card readers. You can install an atapi or scsi card reader into the mpc, and you already have the usb reader for the laptop. That is the better option, but could cost more and theres less info on the topic (using the search should help you find what you need though).