No reviews on this product on this site so I thought I'd ask for some feedback from current or past users. I spent a few months using FirstAlert and loved it. I've got some ideas for some filter based trading I want to start doing and was going to sign up for FirstAlert again, but someone mentioned Insight to me. As far as I can tell, FirstAlert is the top of the heap, can Insight measure up?
Can you elaborate on that at all? Maybe compare strengths and weaknesses if you've used both. I'm only talking filtering capabilities, not charts or other features. Thanks, Corey
if anyone else has opinions about insight's software, please write in. reliability? filtering capability? ease of use? speed?
When I used insight it was $1000 per month and can support 5 users at this level, $50 for each additional user. Insight is more complex and can perfom more detailed filtering, but for a single user I would use 1st Alert.
reliability both are good, ease of use 1st Alert is a snap, it'll take a couple of weeks to learn insight. speed ...same
I tried to contact Insight a while back when some of the traders in the office were interested...not much of a responce. Anyone have a contact over there? Please private message me. Thanks Jonathan
I've used both extensively. Here's my take: RELIABILITY First Alert: Aweful Insight: Oustanding EASE OF USE First Alert: Easy Insight: Difficult FILTERING CAPABILITY First Alert: So-so...Very limited chart criteria Insight: Best in the business--BY FAR CHARTING First Alert: Excellent Insight: Horendous EASE OF DATA MAINTENANCE (STANDALONE VERSION) First Alert: The worst in the business Insight: Reasonable CUSTOMER SERVICE First Alert: Outstanding Insight: The worst in the business PRICE First Alert: Reasonable Insight: Reasonable USER INTERFACE First Alert: Decent Insight: Piss-poor REMOTE VERSIONS (IN GENERAL) First Alert: OK but limited custom filtering capability Insight: Basically it's the same product limited to 1000 symbols or so (The above are my opinions based on experience. Hope they help!)
Re: shortinterest's comments I use FirstAlert every day and was previously a Tradestation user. I have never used Insight so can't comment on that. Regarding your assesment of First Alert, I agree with you except for the comment on Charting. I think that's their biggest shortcoming. The functionality and ease of manipulating charts in Tradestation blows First Alert away. The data maintenance issue is also a big problem (which you do point out). I may be naive relative to sophisticated users but I find First Alert's "filters" and "alerts" incredibly empowering. Within the first few hours of using it (back in June) I created 2 filters that I still use daily (a longs list and shorts list). I've created many others since then and spend a good part of the down time during the lunch time and after the close, experimenting with new ideas. As an interesting aside, I find that my colleagues, many of them great traders, don't utilize filters at all and in fact many use it just for quotes, time and sales, and spooze charts. Full disclosure: I'm fairly new to NYSE "real" trading. I would love to share filter ideas (I have a very limited repertoire but its expanding).