Your laptop would not be considered your personal. You can carry your purse on along with another bag, which would be your laptop bag. You can bring all the cables, etc. with you. CDs can go in you purse or laptop bag or shopping bag, or wherever you'd like. The only "hassle" would be taking it out of the bag at security, which really isn't that big of a deal. You take it out, most likely they have a plastic bin you put it in, put it on the x-ray belt, then put it back in the bag on the other side. If you wanted more than your laptop bag, you could put it inside a bigger bag, which would be your other item. That rule only applies on the plane, though. Security could care less how many bags you bring. Airlines really only want 2 bags per person. They don't care if its a purse, briefcase, luggage, etc. Basically, as long as at least one of your bags will fit under your seat, they don't care. Hope this helps.