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Non-Tech : CYBERTRADER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: William W. Dwyer, Jr. who wrote (470)	5/2/1998 12:31:00 PM
From: topwright	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3216

William and other Cybertradians, Sorry I have been absent from this thread for about a week. Sorry is right. The reason for my absence, NT related problems setting up system/network/new pcs/dual monitor and just about everything else you have been discussing for the past week. Geez, talk about poor timing to be absent. Should have been here asking Spots and Jay some of the technical crap I've had to sort through. I'm fried. William let me give you a first hand experience run-down, it may save you tons of money and precious time, for which there is no price tag. First off, I am fairly knowledgeable in networking and computers in general, so this may help put things into perspective, as you contemplate your situation. On a 1-10 level of technical expertise, I'd probably rate a low 7. I won't go into the frame relay situation as I'm using (was using, explain later) a cable modem and am quite pleased with the performance. I find the cable modem more than adequate and very reliable. All the machines in my network are backed up with 56k modems, and they will suffice in a pinch, but leave a lot to be desired especially if you're using Cybertrader (the more robust of the two packages (CyberT being the lighter version)). Let me say this, CyberT does however run adequately on a 56k modem, but you may to need to connect/reconnect with your ISP a few times to get a good connect at higher speeds above 28.8. 44k connection is ideal. Ok, ok, now for the meat of it. Need to break it down by operating systems first. NT- No need to rehash what Spots or Jay had to say. Read their comments and pay particular attention to their reference regarding any PnP periphials, as they will make your life a living hell....NT and plug n play DON'T MIX, especially if using any ISA slots. Make sure that as many periphials as possible have jumper settings that you can hard-set/configure, or you will quickly find yourself SOL and no place to turn. A suggestion: if you are considering a new PC, go with NT, but have the mfg. configure it with your wishlist already installed. HIGHLY SUGGESTED. Also try to get a PC that has at least 5 PCI slots, two USB ports. Have them insall the cheapest video card or none at all as you will most likely be using a specialized one. Make sure that there are at least two PCI slots open, minimum. Also make sure that you order the network card already installed and configured, PCI preferable. By having NT already configured from the factory with all of your periphials will save you a lot of time, especially if you are not well versed in NT. It will also get you support, otherwise you are on your own. But don't let NT be considered daunting as the good outweights the bad, and it really isn't that difficult if you invest in a good book about NT as a guide to help you through the rough spots. Otherwise the GUI is very familiar, it visually is like looking at win95, but the stability and networking capabilities are very robust and configurable, along with a very stable environment. All benefits that will more than make up for any learning curve. WIN95-will work just fine, certainly will be functional, but expect to have more hang-ups, and performance will run slower than NT. I won't go into all the hoopla as you already are familiar with win95. If you want get up and running, and feel intimidated by NT's extra-effort investment, by all means don't let it stop you from using Win95. It works too. Win98- of course is in beta, but I wouldn't suggest anyone depend on a beta version, especially if your livelihood depends on it. I have however tested a beta version, and I must say that it is very intuitive when it comes to setting up periphials, plug n play is a snap, and at first glance performance definitely seems much improved. As for as how stable it will be in the final version remains to be seen. From my experience I'd still put my money on a true networking OS like NT. Video Cards: I am presently using Appian's Geronimo Pro with one 21" NEC monitor and one 17" Nokia monitor. I also tried to use two Matrox millineum II cards under NT (win 95 doesn't support dual monitor)but then had IRQ problems with the network card and modem (pnp) under NT. Let me clarify something here as it is very important. Even under NT, I would opt for the Appian dual monitor card vs using two video cards not only for the efficiency of slot usage, but also because win95 supports the Appian dual montior setup. This will allow you to reboot from NT to Win95 (vis-a-vis) if you should have any problems during the trading day and don't want to miss a lick. At least that was my final conclusion and it already has come to pass whereby I needed to switch horses in mid stream already. Now for the clincher. As I stated earlier I was using NT....but because my cable company isn't real swift when it comes to providing support I have been unable to get NT to run their software, also had a conflict in one of my machines with an ISA network card and had to purchase a PCI version, installing that today in hopes of finally getting that taken care of. Then I find out that the cable company has to send me an NT version of their software, been a week now and still no software! Arrgghhhh! So I threw my hands in the air and resorted to running Win95 and using a 56k modem connection. You see, the Cable modem software is installed on old machine (166 mhz) and the Cybertrader software (just upgraded from CyberT) is on the new machine. If this is starting to sound confusing, you should try it from this end. I have gone totally bonkers, and have been cocking around with this crap for the better part of a month. Most of this week I was up until 3:00AM, scratching my head trying to figure out IRQ conflicts, wiring of network (5 machines+ 6 monitors) and a lot spare parts, anyone need extra video cards (Matrox Millineum, Intel AGP, STB Nitro, 3 extra modems, 1 extra ISA lynksys network card, old ram simms up the ying yang, and God only knows what else. Get the picture. Asking yourself why so many computers......1-350 mhz w/dual monitor and cable modem for Cybertrader (dedicated), 1-300 mhz being used as to bring in real time news and price quotes, with a overlayed CNBC window open using a TV/video capture card, 1 - 200 mhz online with two chat rooms open, 1-200 mhz hooked to another broker for my longer term and momentum plays, also used for surfing the net, and 1-166 mhz used for email, fax, printing, and publishing. Information overload for any one person, so I now have recruited my wife as the newshound, while I watch the market makers and execute the trades. In closing let me say this, don't take shortcuts when it comes to equipment or OS, if you can afford the best (both financial and time)get it from the start, it will pay for itself in the long haul. Also I agree with you in that Ken Wolff's #MTRADER is top notch and is highly recommended for newbies, even experienced pros can probably justify it's cost. But as with anything I would not learn to depend on others to do your thinking, only for guidance until you pick up the pace. Ken is great for learning how to fish, so that you can go on your own someday. Will probably save a newbie thousands and help cut the learning curve in half, minimum. As for me, I've got to get back to finishing up this networking....Oh God is there really a life beyond computers? In closing I hope I can hook up with you in the cyber chatroom this coming week, until then, hang in there and good luck with getting Worldcomm to expedite your order. One more closing thought, for the price you're being quoted on frame relay, have you considered moving? gggggggggggg Later, rb