Dr. Harvey,
For daytrading, especially for very short term daytrading, there are lots of benefits to using Level II, TOS windows, and intra-day charts. Experienced traders can watch Level II, determine which MM is controlling the stock, tell when momentum is increasing or decreasing, thoroughly analyze a stock before taking a position, etc.....helps determine if and when to open or close one's position.
As an alternative to PC Quote, you could use AT Financial or S&P Comstock. These services usually run around $300 per month (depending upon options you select), so you need to be actively trading to justify them, of course. Then there are the brokers that provide software for you to use that include all these features and eliminate the need for a quote service, saving you that cost. Again, you need to trade enough to justify it. If you don't trade a lot, you can use a quote service bare-bones (without Level II) and pay maybe $75 per month.
Most of the decisions you make depend on the size of your trading account and the amount of trading you plan to do. But, the more tools you have (charts, L-2, TOS, etc), the easier it is for you to make money with trading.
Good luck!
Bill
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