Were there any real-time charts b4 the internet?

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Splitlink is the dodgy looking character on the left lol

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Hope this loads--Just for a laugh. Spot the modern gear!!! And no there`s nothing wrong with my head.
 

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There were certainly computer networks around in the 70s, sixties too, come to that. There were networks before the internet. Large corporations, banks, etc, could easily have had (and still have) private networks to keep people informed, even if the computing behind it was a little underpowered by today's standards. Heck, I was working in computing by 1970, and some of the networks around were pretty sophisticated even then (I didn't work in a financial environment though - scientific).

There would have been primitive networks around even earlier (than the 60s) as well, although not as we know them, Jim. The likes of IBM have had networks for yonks, albeit somewhat clunky (so no change there then... :) ).
 
I have heard it from someone dealing through the 80's and 90's that they had something called a "topic" (?? maybe Topix?)) machine... and trading in general was a very different affair.

Any of you Old Boys heard of a "topic" before?
 
Were the any real-time charts b4 the internet was invented?

if so, how?

if not, how did people intraday trade?


:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

JTrader wants to know. I said i will ask. And then I WILL be back to him with the answers!

Seeing is this is just about the only post I can remember you making that is even remotely related to trading, I will make guesses and say:

1) YES

2) The cost put the existing technology beyond that of the "retail" client, but the technology did exist.

3) I assume that with real-time data came real-time charts - with the former, the latter are rather simple to construct. I think a better question is: "How did people trade without knowing what the most recent price was?"


 
3) I assume that with real-time data came real-time charts - with the former, the latter are rather simple to construct. I think a better question is: "How did people trade without knowing what the most recent price was?"


[/B]

Tracking down the time that the exchanges gave out real time data is difficult, ticker machines have a 100 year history and are well documented, what came after is not so well documented as the rapid changes in technology meant that it wasn't worth writing about last weeks latest gizmo I guess lol

The ticker tape machine was around 15 to 20 mins delayed, yes even into the 1960's! this is exactly what Livermore found when he moved from the bucket shops where he day traded, to the brokerage houses where he found his method didn't work and he had to change to take account for the delay in data.

If we look for the beginnings of day trading as we know it today then we should be able to pinpoint the time that the exchange data became realtime enough to do it and therefore charts become realtime.

Topic lol

What has a hazelnut in every bite?

180px-Topic_%28chocolate_bar%29.jpg


Squirrel sh!t

:p
 
We had a market floor. Our dealers were in contact by radio phone and most brokers had a "box" ( a small office) in or near the market.
Topic started as a terminal and keypad system. It received data from Crystal Palace via the air waves (on the teletext spare TV lines). Then it ran on Windows 3.1 or Windows for workgroups and you could get the data onto Excel or whatever under DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) and plot charts.
There was no smoking on the SE floor so we could only smoke in the office after the market closed!
 
Opened my first IG account in the early 80s and used a small device linked to the telephone line called Prestel which gave live prices - very costly phone bills though. All telephone dealing and will always remember the name of one of the IG lady dealers- Claire Kitkat. However I did have a Commadore 64, which was only used by my kids to play games and there was also the Sinclare ZX80 or something like that. I also remember listing to the BBC world service which gave reports on the softs - weather etc. as I traded coffee way back then when frost was a serious issue.
 
Reading this is making me feel very young...(30) It is good to know who the veterans on this forum are. It makes me wonder if trading was easier back then. I am starting to think that the less technology we put on are charts ie.. rsi, macd, ema, stochastics, etc. the better off we are. Back then it sounds like all you had was price action...maybe not realtime. The more I trade the less lines I put on my chart. great pics and video
 
Seeing is this is just about the only post I can remember you making that is even remotely related to trading, I will make guesses and say:

1) YES

2) The cost put the existing technology beyond that of the "retail" client, but the technology did exist.

3) I assume that with real-time data came real-time charts - with the former, the latter are rather simple to construct. I think a better question is: "How did people trade without knowing what the most recent price was?"



Thanks for the response.

But how did i know this post would contain some sarcy comments b4 i even read it?!

If u want proof that the majority of my posts have been trading related, look through them all - from day 1, onwards.

Don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for wise ars e smart comments. But when everything they have to contribute is a wise crack in some from of other - that person soon gets rather mundane, wearing and tiresome...
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tommac
I could very well be one of the oldest on this board--thats sick.. (50)

I don't think so, sonny.

Phew--I feel a lot better now. must have been hitting the mark last week that was painful
 
Thinking back: there were also some very exotic commodities like "POTATOES" - are they still on IGs list of tradable - I will have to check.

Mark

____________________________________________
If you always think the worst you will never be disappointed
 
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