One of the first two digital electronic synthesizers and samplers (the other being the Fairlight CMI) , invented in 1978 by Jon Appleton, currently a professor of music and director of the graduate program in electronic music at Dartmouth College. The Synclavier is connected to a computer system for editing waveforms, and uses a keyboard controller for playback. It was nominally portable, breaking down into about three suitcase-sized boxes, and remained popular among composers of popular music (notably Stevie Wonder) and film scores through the 1990's. Synclaviers are still in use today, though the flexibility of MIDI and personal computer based tools has diminished its popularity.