Peter--
IT does have a "help" thing, but I haven't tried it. I just fooled around with the various options, and now use the ones that are most useful to me. Which is not to say that I've arrived at a level of "reasonable competence". Remember when there were "manuals"?
Mostly what's there is just there. They do offer a pretty large number of indicators that you can stick on charts, and a wide range of chart types. I don't like their intradays, but then I don't like most people's intradays. Love that time/sales, though: only place I know of where you can get it free. And realtime, even if it's not supposed to be. Yeah, there are bugs, but there must be quite a lot you can do with it. Pretty much all I've done so far is use T/S, set up a couple of quote pages, and hit the charts occasionally. I gather that if you access end-of-day stuff for individual stocks you can then log off your ISP and do charting and the like offline, but I haven't tried it.
Of the stocks you mention, I'm familiar only with SHFL and QDEK. Did pretty well with the latter once, but that was back when it shot up to 40. A sad story: good technology, but they couldn't compete against both MSFT and NSCP. It probably took a leap the other day on perennial takeover rumors; they no doubt still have some attractive proprietary stuff. But Peter, remember what they say: buy low, sell high. Tempting as it is (and I've done it myself, to my sorrow), it is NOT a good idea to jump in the day after a stock goes up 41%, especially if you have no idea why it happened.
SHFL: chart looks really good for the near term; could pop Tuesday (nice little hanging man). I once had some SHFL warrants. Bought 'em one day, the next they went screaming, I felt GREAT, and then they called 'em, quite unexpectedly. It was an absolute nightmare. I had to pay an astonishing sum in exercise fees, I was simultaneously long and short the stock (because the warrants hadn't settled), and the whole business didn't get straightened out for a week or more. In the end I made about three thousand bucks, but it really wasn't worth it. I don't know why, but every time I buy warrants something goes wrong. Always something different, but always something.
Oh well, anyhow...have fun with IT. And what exactly is their connection with Morgan Stanley? Does anyone know?
Janice |
