reg wrote:
That's exactly my point Lobster. You did your own research and made your own decision. I did my own research when I was a newbie by reading all the threads on ET and other boards about brokers, data providers, software, etc. Narrowed down my choices, signed up for their free trials and simulators, and made my own decision. I did not start to post very basic, wimpy "Is IB a good broker? I've been struggling for 6 weeks with this decision" kind of questions. As Bob111 stated in his post above, these kinds of questions get really old when all the info is here on this board if one would just do a thorough search.
I may sound harsh, but we would all be doing this guy a favor by not spoon-feeding him. What's his next question after he starts trading - "Can anyone teach me a profitable trading system"?
I will continue to defend my contrawise position on this matter. I am not asking for reviews of IB or eSignal or QT or any of the available products, but for someone who is new, there are very few places (in my experience) which explain how everything fits together. If I would have stopped and subscribed to what I thought I needed after my first week of research on the web, I would probably have purchased PD for a broker, Quote.com for a quote provider, eSignal for charting, and Trade-ideas.com for scanning (it was recommended here). I had no idea that, other than the obvious quote.com, each of the other aforementioned companies also have their own data feeds. It is just not that clear!
I have read about 6-8 books since last May-June on daytrading/charting fundamentals and have scanned these boards and have learned a lot, however, nowhere does it say in any straightforward manner that data comes in from a
"Quote Source" and that this
"Quote Source" may be from
Quote Provider A which will provide you with your needed quote data, OR, it could be
Quote Provider B which is also a broker, OR, you could also use
Quote Provider C which happens to quote data and charting, OR, it can be
Quote Provider D which in addition to providing a quote data feed, it also serves a a broker
AND a chart provider. But
Quote Provider D is too expensive, so you could go with
Quote Provider B which will be your broker and your quote feed. Now for a
"Chart Provider"....let's see, you can use
Chart Provider A which does not offer any data, and you need to subscribe separately for that, but be sure to keep in mind that it won't take data from your selected
Quote Provider B becasue they are not affiliated, but, don't worry there is also
Chart Provider B which has its own data but it will not integrate with your
Quote Source B so you will have to place trades with your broker/quote source and check charts as they will be separate applications. And for backdata, there is another source....
Do you see at all how this can get confusing when it is new? When I traded actively on Ameritrade, it was one-stop shopping. I don't mind having to do my own research to see what works best for me, but I do need to know how they work together. I highly doubt that every combination and permutation of quote provider/broker/chart provider, etc. are discussed at length here at ET.
I apologize. I know my IQ is well above my shoe size, yet getting a grasp on how to configure all of the modules is not something that is discussed all that often and rarely in a comprehensive format (again, from my experience). I work daily with the Fed. tax code, and have to make inferences from complex information quite often, so I know I possess a modicum of deductive reasoning ability...but when MY money is on the line, I don't want to begin to infer anything, and I don't have the time to call and sit on hold with every one of these companies, who are only going to try and sell me what they want me to buy anyway.
I want to know what I am doing, and I would never ask "Is IB a good broker". It seems like every f*cking topic covers that one.
This ain't Outward Bound--it does not have to be survival of only those who can spend countless hours trying to figure it out from scratch. I thought that these boards in general were for sharing info, hopefully in a pleasant and congenial manner.
