Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi Guys
I am giving consideration towards the purchase of the above mentioned 
software and am anxious to get some feedback/reviews from anyone who 
is aware of this software or who may have used this. 

I purchased a DTXpress (2nd hand) two weeks ago and am anxious to 
gain a structured approach towards learning how to play the drums 
properly.....without the expense of paying for lessons so any advice 
that I can gain would be greatly appreciated. Alternatively to the 
Stickmaster software if anyone can recommend other interactive books 
or software then that would be cool too.

If in the event that I do purchase the Stickmaster software what lead 
do I need to connect my DTXPRESS to my laptop. I have a laptop with 
an onboard ESS MAESTRO PCI AUDIO Card. I do not own any external MIDI 
sound card devices.

Any help appreciated,
Cheers,
Brian