MarketWatcher, I don't think you really know what you are talking about. You said that QuoteTracker is "an amateurish piece of crap", yet you go on and on about how good Ameritrade Command center is? QuoteTracker is head and shoulders above Ameritrade both features, software reliability AND Datafeed reliability (yes, Ameritrade's datafeed is more reliable through QuoteTracker than through their own applet). I know that I am biased, but we are not talking a comparison with some high end system here. Command Center is not even in the same ball park. I can list of a dozen specifics, but this is really not the place for that. You either have not used any recent version of QuoteTracker or simply don't know how to use it and did not bother to ask questions. As for the high end systems such as Bloomberg, I am yet to meet anyone who would actually get so much more out of them, that it would justify the cost over eSignal, IQFeed or one of the other vendors coupled with a good broker. And yes, I have seen Bloomberg stuff when my wife worked for them. Jerry Medved http://www.quotetracker.com P.S. You really need to learn to use more tact
I'm not a full time professional trader (I'm supplementing my income by working nights), and I am relatively new to the game. In my limited experience trading, though, I've used Ameritrade (for Level II, T&S, and execution), IB (for Level II and execution), and eSignal (for Charts and T&S). IMO, Ameritrade's Command Center is surprisingly good for a free (for Apex subscribers) add-on service. My impression, based on a side-by-side comparison, is that their Level II is actually slightly faster than IB's (I haven't tried Level II with eSignal yet). Also, Ameritrade's Level II incorporates quotes from Island and Arca, whereas IB's Level II does not. (If I've failed to take advantage of some feature that IB provides, I'd appreciate someone letting me know.) Also, I found that Command Center's T&S was slower than eSignal's, and got strangely out of synch with the Command Center Level II display. Command Center is also occasionally unreliable in my experience. I've had "No Server Available" errors pop up just as I was about to execute an order, and was forced to execute via their browser-based order entry, but at the loss of several crucial seconds. I've also had some frustration getting fills through Ameritrade; it can be very slow, usually when you'd like to see speed the most. I've seen market orders in calm markets take over 30 seconds. I've also seen market and limit orders in fast markets executed almost instantaneously. I guess it's the inconsistency that bothers me the most. I plan to keep my Ameritrade account for trades which are longer term, and especially trades of several thousand shares. Still hoping to find the package that has everything. I'm looking for something with Ameritrade's Level II, eSignal's T&S and charting, and that is also rock solid in terms of stability (IB and eSignal both have been for me.) -- and at the lowest possible price! I'm planning to give IQFeed and quotetracker a try, but any other recommendations would be welcome.
It's funny to see how all of you are mixing datafeed service, charting software, execution platforms, and brokerage service.
Given everything you have said, I cannot quite get a grip on what you are asking for. I have NEVER met a swing trader that cared how _UP_TO_THE_SECOND_ their quotes were, only that they not lag for more than say one second, which by a swing traders time frame is essentially atomic. You say you sometimes do size, and yet you are still retail? I have yet to meet a trader that does 100,000 shares at a time do it retail. Most of these people, if they are sensitive to comissions, have gotten _instituitional_ pricing which beats anything mentioned here as a broker. Finally, if you REALLY are interested in what you say, Tradestations datafeed for equities is pretty damn good, their charting in 7.1 is no worse than QCharts, and it is $99/M if you open up an account with them for $5k. This way, you can keep your Ameritrade and have your cake and eat it too. As far as IQFeed, it is a good feed. However, in my experience, unless you get a good software to go with it, you are asking for headaches. As far as bloomberg, I should be so lucky as to be able to justify one. nitro
WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT USE AMERITRADESLEVEL2 FOR THE FIRST AND LAST HOUR OF TRADING Spend the extra dollar and get urself a reliable quote!!!!!!!! J-medved, thanks for the help on opening 2 instances of QT.
I use Command Center strictly as an order entry platform and to track my porfolio. I use the Streamer console for quotes, level II, T&S, streaming news, etc. Ameritrade's system has been extremely reliable lately so that is not an issue. As I mentioned, I found Ameritrade's streaming quotes to be faster than Qcharts and eSignal. It is obvious that you are a talented and dedicated programmer, but I just can't get used to QuoteTracker. I am used to Qcharts which is great in terms design, layout and options. Every program I have tried pales in comparison to Qcharts. Unfortunately, Qcharts has become unusable lately. I spent more time searching for a server that would provide at least 5 minutes of continuous data flow than watching the market. Also, S&P Comstock felt ECN data wasn't important so they didn't renew the contract! Trading without ECN data is a bit of a problem!! Anyway, with QuoteTracker I cannot toggle between the Island, Arca and Nasdaq books on the level II window. Also, I have not discovered a way to adjust/move the columns in the level II window. I like the MM column in the middle. The pencil (?) and "V" buttons overlap the font size buttons on the T&S window. I'm not sure if this is a result of my use of large fonts. In any case, I think the font size buttons should be removed and accessible through the view menu. Can the data in the columns (quotesheets) be center justified? I find the data in Streamer to be more easily assimilable than in QuoteTracker. Streamer and Qcharts are much cleaner in design and presentation. QuoteTracker might have more features, but 95% of the time I'm watching streaming quotes, Level II and T&S. I use another program for charts and TA. Basically, I think QuoteTracker has a lot to offer, I just don't like the design and presentation. It would be nice, for instance, if the cells could be altered directly (for deleting or replacing a symbol) like in Qcharts. Command Center does what I need it to do. The Streamer suite of products does what it does well. Sorry for the lack of tact. I didn't know you would be reading. You seem like a nice, reasonable guy, but this is business. I am not fond of your product. Is QuoteTracker compatible with large fonts? The symbol column is gray while the rest of the fields are consistent with the color scheme. Is there a way to match the symbol column with the rest of the fields? The red/green block used to highlight updated cells is obtrusive in my opinion. Is this able to be modified?
I simply asked about the prices and quality of the professional quote services such as Bloomberg, Reuters and CGQ. Consider me a modified swing trader then. I'm not a scalper. Markets turn on a dime and if I need to exit a large position in a fast, volatile market, the last thing I need is lagging and inaccurate quotes. I don't trade in lots that big. I used it as an example. A 100,000 share order would cost a lot in commissions with IB but a 1M share order would still cost $10.99 with Ameritrade. That is important when you're dealing with 10,000, 15,000, 20,000 share lots. There is institutional pricing that can beat $10.99 for a 5M share order? Isn't everyone interested in the ideal quote system?
You are an idiot. What does the fact that I only recently joined have to do with anything? Do you think the trading world revolves around this board/website? I paid around $200 back in '97 or '98 for Baron's trading tutorial/manual. Ask him about it. Do you think ALL traders are aware of and worship this board? Don't flatter yourself. I just rediscovered the board when I had a monitor question. This isn't the be-all-end-all of the trading world.