GrowleyMonster, I find it very interesting that you have this aversion to WIN and MAC OS and only want to use LINUX. To put this on context, I have been in sales since 2011. It would be my estimate that of manual traders I have been in contact with, 90% use a WIN OS and 10% use MAC OS. I have never been asked once if we have a manual trading platform that uses LINUX. There is just no demand for this. Automated traders have different requirements and we can accommodate them with either a FIX solution or Realtick API. We have to allocate resources to where the demand is.
Most people don't realize how vulnerable a WinDOHs system is, even the professional IT guys. It is even built right in to the EULA, if you read it. MS has complete control over your system. They can change ANYTHING THEY WANT on your system including your personal files unless encrypted by a third party program. And since they can do this, someone else can do it, too, if they figure out a new "in" on this backdoor. You don't own the software. The source code is secret. You have to suffer through involuntary updates and upgrades. You pay. And pay. And pay. Linux is a more powerful, less resource wasteful, more flexible system. I love horses but I wouldnt drive one to work every day. And Windows I have no love for at all. With a Linux system, you own the software. You can do whatever you want with it. You can, if so inclined, and think you can do it better, rewrite the kernel and compile it into your own custom OS. Not that I would ever need to or be able to do it, but that is just how much more freedom you have with Linux. Linux has no back door. There are enough savvy users diddling with the source code that it would be quickly discovered. WinDOHs does have a back door, and that makes it vulnerable. MS is a "hyper user" of your system, with more rights than an admin user. With Linux, everything stops at root. Unless someone gets your root password or you let them in, the chances of someone even being able to diddle with your system are abbysmally small. The encryption algo is open source and can be inspected by anyone with the talent and inclination. That's why no antivirus is needed for Linux. The only purpose of AV in a Linux system is to prevent the system from propogating harmless (to Linux) virii to other helpless WinDOHs machines. One reason WinDOHs is so expensive is you are paying for the marketing. Not sure Linux itself even HAS an advertising budget LOL. Maybe the for profit businesses on the fringe do. I used to see ads for Red Hat, back in the day. I hate paying for my own brainwashing. And Microsoft's business model I find very disturbing from a consumer point of view. Basically, practically any fully assembled computer that you buy, you pay for WinDOHs whether you want to, or not. Even if your first boot is from a live Ubuntu thumb drive and you never even see the MS flash screen. PC makers are bullied into including the OS by default. I totally understand your brokerage not wanting to cater to what some would call a fringe group. Your perogative and it probably makes good business sense. But I won't downgrade my OS for that reason when there are alternatives. If there were none, I just wouldn't trade. TDA and IB do cater to this fringe group and weighing the reviews between the two, it was almost eeny meanie miney moe but I ended up with IB. I will support businesses that allow me to use my chosen operating system for philosophical reasons but mostly for practical ones. I am not going to downgrade from an obviously superior OS to an obviously inferior one. Weight of users doesn't mean anything to me. I could care less whether Linux users are a minority or not. There is enough critical mass to ensure truly excellent peer support and third party mostly open source apps that Linux is extremely capable. The only major thing you can do with Windows that you can't do with Linux is run VBA code, and this is a limitation put in place by MS, not Linux, and is not necessary for any tasks other than SOME interaction with Windows systems. Wow I didn't originally intend this to become a rant! I am not picking on you for not doing business with Linux users. I was pointing out that your brokerage, even though I can't use it, looks very interesting and that I would possibly or even probably have opened an account with you guys. If I was a Windows user, which I am not, but many many others are. As for Mac, just no. More secure than WinDOHs, yeah, at least I think so. Apple probably has a big backdoor into Mac systems, too. And it lacks the flexibility I am accustomed to and it is closed source, a definite warning signal to me. I haven't even read their EULA. I did almost sit down in front of an Apple IIE once, cause it was just sooooooo cute. Never heard anything about Apple/Mac that impressed me enough to actually try it. Having pulled out my hair trying to make an iphone do all the stuff I can do on an android, I am very much put off by how restrictive that community is.
Dependent if you are looking to trade stocks or futures. With Stocks I think TD Ameritrade is a good brokerage to work with and I've been with them for years! TD has great customer service and they're platform is nice. I feel with Futures it really depends on the type of level of customer service you need. I have some friends who are new to futures and they require more customer service than most traders because they are just learning the platform, how to trade etc. The broker I use is great which is Cannon Trading. The platform is advanced but has no monthly fee. It's not that hard to learn and my broker helps me out when I need the help but that's pretty rare because I've been trading for years now. I trade more futures than stocks just FYI. I really like the platform I use to trade futures and future options as well.