I am looking at a trial version of Amibroker and they warn that downloading from IB can be very slow so mayby the problem is with IB rather than the applications.
As always it depends to what you are comparing to. IB *backfill* is slow compared to eSignal or IQFeed. When backfill in AmiBroker with eSignal as a data source takes 3-5 seconds, the same backfill with IB is 30-50 seconds (DSL 2Mbps)
I borrowed a screen shot so that MC can see how real traders tile their screens. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/attachment.php?s=&postid=1636866
This again is the typical MC type of response. Instead of saying: "yes, you are the paying customer, we will do it for you", you go on the same song & dance routine and give excuses after excuses. Do you think MC is the only company that gets requests ???? Do you think MC is the only company that has to deal with 15+ data providers ??? Do you think MC is the only company that needs to prioritize its resources ??? If you do a search on Quotetracker on ET, you will see that someone requests to have a feature called PRV (pro-rated volume), it was done it a week !!! I encountered a problem with QT, posted a simple question on ET, and I immediately received 2 personal emails from QT. I am not telling you how to run your business. I am merely pointing out the obvious that you do not see.
Thank you Tums, for articulating the true function of any "service" provider. I have been on the fence for sometime. I prefer IB as my brokerage for the instruments and markets that I trade, otherwise I would be with tradestation for their charting program and Easy Language. I use QT and am so impressed with their "customer service", however, it does not support easy language and lacks a few minor tools that I desire. Amibroker has been extremely responsive as well. Following this thread has confirmed my belief in the value of "Service" over price. It appears when MC cloned Tradestation, they neglected to take this most important feature into consideration. I will stick with QT for now and look closer at amibroker and tradestation. Thanks again for reminding me of the most important feature in any product.
There is a market segment that does not require much service, they use IB probably so Multicharts is making what is essentially a front end for IB and the people that use Multicharts probably are glad they are not paying for lots of service for dopey people that demand lots of attention........ Now then, back to my number one need from Multicharts... the dll that enables trading from the script, Andrew, I got promised "a few days after 2.1 is release", now it is "couple of weeks" and that time is up this Friday, I hope you come through for me, with that I can have the trading environment that I had with Tradestation and third party dll's but with a dll supported by a company that can keep up with the changes to the IB API that happen occasionally.. I have my fingers crossed Andrew, don't dissapoint me because I cry when that happens...
Quote from maxpi: There is a market segment that does not require much service, they use IB probably so Multicharts is making what is essentially a front end for IB and the people that use Multicharts probably are glad they are not paying for lots of service for dopey people that demand lots of attention........ [/QUOTE] I am not disputing the benefits of IB. It would be ideal to create the same trading environment as tradestation with IB as the broker, in this regard I was hoping MC could be the solution. I do not expect a lot of attention, however, I do expect a software company still in the developmental stage to consider its customers requests, suggestions and concerns in a non confrontational and condescending manner. It is apparent that MC still has to overcome some shortcomings and the tone of their responses is less than reassuring to a potential customer.
I am not disputing the benefits of IB. It would be ideal to create the same trading environment as tradestation with IB as the broker, in this regard I was hoping MC could be the solution. I do not expect a lot of attention, however, I do expect a software company still in the developmental stage to consider its customers requests, suggestions and concerns in a non confrontational and condescending manner. It is apparent that MC still has to overcome some shortcomings and the tone of their responses is less than reassuring to a potential customer. [/QUOTE] Maybe you should contact your concierge and have him get in touch with the developers and you can get your people together for a lunch meeting in a posh restaurant? Remember, white wine with fish, red with..... The thing about tssupport's software over the years is that it works. I recall dyna-whatever it was, the guy was debugging software long after it was released and I found bugs even when he was done debugging it..... there are other bad examples out there too... I beta tested tssupport's On Demand Server and it was in better shape going into beta than most stuff is long after release.. that upside overrides any negative feelings they might engender in me via terse communications... at least they can write code that is working well. Try Tradestation 2000 sometime........ which is going to be my software of choice if I can't get the dll or activex thing from Multicharts pretty soon...
I respect your opinion, sarcasm excluded, your knowledge and experience in coding and software has been demonstrated in many of your past posts. We merely view MC from different perspective's. Your experience affords you the luxury of looking past less than optimal customer relations as your objectives are well defined. I for one hold value in an organization that respects is customers wishes in addition to its technical capabilities. An analogy would be in reference to your suggestion of lunch. The pairing of wines is inconsequential, as it is no longer a requirement to enjoy a fine meal. One must merely serve a fine vintage to the enjoyment of all. This could easily be a fine Rose, a fine balance you might say. There in lies the question, what does one pair with Borsch? Sour grapes perhaps? For this is the impression MC has portrayed.