Was contemplating in purchasing a Mac for my business and trading needs. Just wondering whether Mac OS offers decent compatibility with most of the trading software/platforms available. Taking into account that most programmes are Windows-based, is there suitable and competitive trading software for the latest Mac OS Panther/Tiger versions? Thanx for your input.
I use a Mac g4 Powerbook, running TOS and Interactive Brokers workstations, which both work perfectly on it... Most applications are still windows based like Xtrader etc; and pretty much all of the professional charting packages... However, as you're probably aware, the Intel Macs are now dual bootable with Windows using Apples 'Bootcamp', which is a massive improvement over the old 'virtual PC' application...
You can also run Windows as a guest operating system simultaneously with OSX: http://www.parallels.com/
ok thanx. I shall be buying one of the higher-end macbooks to start trading then.. i-ve also noticed that many brokers have web-imbedded, java-based applications for charting and order input. In that case, any computer with java software should do?
I plan on using TradeStation on a Mac through Parallels. I'll try to remember to post an update once I have it going. If you want to check in on my experiences overall I am keeping a thread under Automated Trading called "Chabah on Automated Trading". Good luck with the MacBook, they are sweet. Chabah
If you want to avoid the overhead of Parallels and Windows virtualization on the Mac, try something that runs natively. QST - Quick Screen Trading will run on Mac, Windows, Linux, Solaris and BSD. You can get a free 2-week trial at: http://www.quickscreentrading.com You can download the Mac version here: http://quotes.computervoice.com/webstart/QST/qst.jnlp Give it a try. You will not be disappointed. It has it's own real-time data, charts, order entry, real-time profit/loss calculations and integrated paper trading.
That QST thing is pure crack. It's impressively comprehensive ... and really couldn't have been designed any worse. It looks to be a straight feature rip of IB's TWS (which sets the all-time standard for bad design). I can't even figure out if the product still exists or is supported.
TWS, Oanda, and several other Java charting applications running here with no problems, MacBook Pro. (At least, with no *more* problems than they have in Win XP...)
Interesting.....wonder why Steve Jobs had bashed Java so badly recently ? http://blogs.msdn.com/sprague/archive/2007/01/18/java.aspx