Quote from kiwi_trader:
DAV,
Would you give me an opinion on philosophy of software upgrades.
My philosophy for mission critical systems (eg, TWS, charting, order entry, java) is to defer upgrading for a period to allow for additional issues to be resolved in post Beta testing by people who are either less cautious, need a specific feature now or don't consider the software mission critical.
The delay would vary depending on how important new features were, the historical performance of releases, and the number and depth of changes.
For someone who makes their living trading I would suggest a normal minimum time after release to install a new TWS would be two weeks with a preference for four or more. If a new feature was required then a means of swapping quickly back to an old proven version should be prepared before installation.
I totally agree with you.
Trading is dead serious business...
Especially if you have the API hooked up... and lots of custom software.
Right now I'm running Build 861.5 (Aug 16) on my important account...
And the newest Build 864.6 (Nov 2) on my small account.
That Nov2 build is a rapid fix to a late Oct build.
No problems right now...
But instead of proper Beta testing...
IB appears to do "shotgun builds" to fix problems.
Now I always wait for the error threads on ET... before upgrading.
My general belief is that IB deliberately isolates itself...
From both the mainstream trading and software worlds...
And is often reinventing wheels...
Instead of just doing what is industry standard (because it works the best).
Everytime they double their business... they fire 50% of their staff...
So after a while all you have left are people that have never left the IB campus.
The thing that really got me was when these programmers were reinventing "Stock Loan"...
Seemingly completely unaware how the pros do things on Wall Street for a zillion years...
And viewing themselves as part of a special "online" niche...
As opposed to being part of the mainstream securities industry.
Stock Loan is a HUGE profit center on Wall Street.
IB once posted here about a year ago that they have two (2) people assigned to Stock Loan...
And seem to view it as some kind of service grudgingly provided at a loss.