I have NeoTickerEOD and agree that the learning curve is a bit steep, but in terms of *functionality* don't know that you can beat NeoTicker. The ScanWorkshop component alone is worth the price of the product. I scan 100-1500 securities and get good results. Next milestone for me is to implement 'automated' trading system and I find that the output from the NeoTicker ScanWorkshop is almost invaluable to that effort. For now I swing trade EOD (sometimes I cheat and trade intraday) but when I do go RT it'll be with NeoTicker. Hope this helps; good luck and good trading! SB
If you're using IB, you can also use CoolTrade, which is all automated. Much easier than TradeStation or Ninja Trader. CoolTrade Fully Automated Stock Trading Software
The Ninjatrader automated system is basically C#, so if you have any background with that, it might speed the learning curve. I believe it is $60/month or you can pay a one time fee of $995 for a permanent license.
Full flexibility is achieved by using languages such as vb.net or c#. Excel seems more immediate, but it's by far too limiting, and actually useless if we are talking about real automation. However, such greater flexibility comes at a very high price. In the sense that you will find yourself programming for years to get it right. Anyway it's certainly a fascinating journey, worth to be done. ____________________ Tom My <a href="http://www.datatime.eu/public/gbot/2009_11_03_Tue_Wed_Overnight/default.htm" target="_blank">futures autotrading</a> journal