P&f Charts

[Hittfeld]

<< Don't forget you can
have extra codes for laptops etc if needed, the only proviso being that
they're for your own use..... >>>

I am a knowledgeworker myself, living solely of my (well paid) lectures. And it drives me nuts, to notice somebody in the auditorium taping the whole session. So I wholeheartedly understand the desire to protect ones wisdom.

Still I own too many programs which I can`t get the blxxxxy code anymore, because the firm disappeared or even worse:

I own several copies of Windows on Wallstreet (TA) including tons of cds with monthly company data of 8500 US stocks. The new owners never let me upgrade, but always wanted to sell me their latest proggy. Guess who they were: xxxxxxxx (no I won`t say the f-word) Omega (tradestation sec.).

Same experience with omnitrader, and worst with TASC Library CD-rom. They don`t even tell you before, that you will need the key and ADOBE, and can only reregister twice. That was USD 395.00

Sorry, I need a p&f program, I would love this one after reading the manual, but I won`t waste my time trialing.

Thanks for the help

Hittfeld

 

[zambuck]

I still retain my copy of INDEXIA 11 PLUS..........A museum piece of course now .......Cost nearly a grand but included a couple of really cool indicators one of which was the P&F facility. When JDeP sold out to that Australian character INDEXIA was dumped......the level of support from UD for the few stuggling to retain use of their "investment" was quite frankly abysmal. nothing has changed apparently reading comments from UD users.

The P&F facility in Tenfore Realtime is excellent, I had a trial use but the costs are prohibitive and did not take up the offer, I regret I do miss the P&F facility, I use Sierra/Mychart but quite frankly the P&F charts are not usable when compared with INDEXIA or TENFORE.




IMHO of course

I still retain my copy of Indexia2 and as far as I am concerned is still better than many reincarnations that it was sold under....

Sharescope now has P & F charting facility which is preety good compared to many others....Just try it out.....Sharescope is fast and quick and not lethargic like many other packages that use Java....

Indexia 2 runs fine and is still ok for P & F charting....and for general TA...I still use it...

 

[Mayfly]

A Free Review

Guys,

Interestingly enough, David Penn – who’s the Technical Writer for Stock & Commodities Magazine – has just completed a fairly comprehensive review of Updata’s Technical Analyst software.

Few people doubt or question S&C’s reputation in this field – they’re generally well regarded for their independent and professional approach to these matters – and they’re not known for mincing their words or pulling their punches.

But guess what? David Penn has given Updata’s Technical Analyst the thumbs up, giving the software a very favourable review. You can read it for yourselves here: http://www.traders.com/Reprints/PDF_reprints/UD_UPDATA.PDF

I use the software and I’m very happy with it and I suggest that anyone who’s looking for charting software should take David Penn’s advice and try it for themselves.

HTH

Cheers

Mayfly

 

[DaveJB]

Hi Hittfield,
sorry for the delay, I've just got back from the Tradepit meeting at Hatfield... As Madasafish has said, I provide extra codes for extra PCs although I only guarantee to 'unlock' one PC... It's simple really, if I say 'as many codes as you want' somehbody will jump on the perceived weakness and demand I hand over as many as they need to keep flogging it to all comers, leaving me to try to prove they're breaching my copyright. Provided I can be reasonably happy that the registered user is keeping it for their own use I don't mind them having it running on 2 or 3 PCs at the same time.

Dave

 

[DaveJB]

Mayfly,
how did you get hold of that? It's in November's magazine - I'm a subscriber and still only have October's issue?
Dave

 

[Mayfly]

Hi Dave,

It's on the front page - bottom column on the left - of the website: http://www.traders.com/

You'll see that they do a number of FREE articles or software reviews there.

I ought to say that the delivery of the magazine over here has improved a lot this year, although I've sort of lost interest in it these days?

Regards

Mayfly

 

[DaveJB]

Yeah,
I found the online one from your link, I assumed you'd got the hard copy way before me though to know Updata was in there? When Dennis Peterson reviewed my program I paid for a bunch of these downloadable articles too - useful for the user, I guess, they're not free - the guy flogging the program pays for 'em <g>
Delivery - hmmm, seems to vary a bit - I've found the content to be somewhat less than 'must read' for the past year or so, they seem to be letting a few errors through these days - charts with buy signals below the lowest actual price on the chart suggest the technical analysis skills of the proof reader need some work.

My congratulations on being not only a happy Updata user, but apparently an ecstatic one <g> Some brief mention of it was made at the traders' meeting I attended on Saturday, and we agreed it was a fine program. Now if only the other 95% of TA users would appreciate the wonders of TA....

Dave

 

[theknifemac]

Dave

When did you get the October copy ? Just realised I haven't received mine yet. Only been subscribed for a couple of months so not sure how variable the deliveries can be.

Stew

 

[DaveJB]

Hi,
I got it about a week or so ago as I remember. Delivery seems to be quite variable though, a side effect of surface mail rather than anything TAS&C control I suspect.
Dave

 

[zzaxx99]

Few people doubt or question S&C’s reputation in this field – they’re generally well regarded for their independent and professional approach to these matters – and they’re not known for mincing their words or pulling their punches.

You have got to be kidding! My biggest complaint about TASC is that they will hardly ever give anything but the mildest criticism of anything - they will never comparitively review, never suggest that one thing is better or more suitable than another. They are so desperately, desperately concerned to be even handed (and not offend any advertisers?) that their reviews are close to worthless, IMHO.

I've just re-read that "review" of Updata - most of it might as well have come from the product literature (I'm not suggesting that it did, but the article is, in common with the vast majority of their "reviews", such an anodyne list of "it does this, it does this" that it might as well have been), with only the merest hints of opinion or qualitative judgement included - "... whether [it] is significantly more complex... is .. in the eye of the beholder..", "..providing the level and amount of free support ... helps ...take the greatest advantage of .. the software".

Nearly all the reviews are the same - list of features, very slightest hint of opinion, but no value judgement whatsoever. If they reviewed cars, they'd be publishing reviews along the lines of "the GiantMotorCorp Monstro 382324Z includes many useful feature for the modern driver. As well as the by now standard SteeringWheel TM technology, also found in many other competing packages, it also includes a full complement of 4 pneumatic wheels aligned in close proximity to the road. While it does show an occasional tendency to veer wildly off the road and head for the nearest tree, the bodywork is beatifully painted, and we're sure than most drivers will find that overall the benefits are worth any small rough edges in the overall system".

It's a good magazine in many ways, but their reviews are utterly gutless.

 

[zzaxx99]

Dave

When did you get the October copy ? Just realised I haven't received mine yet. Only been subscribed for a couple of months so not sure how variable the deliveries can be.

Stew

I gave up on subscribing to TASC for exactly this reason - their deliveries are terribly unreliable. I eventually realised that most month I could buy it in Borders before my subscription copy arrived - on a couple of occasions, more than a month before my subscription copy arrived. The copies arrived at random intervals, with anything from 3 days to 2 months between issues, and not necessarily in the right order, either.

Buying individual issues is more expensive (£4.25), but at least you can guarantee that you get the damn thing. (I got the November issue in Borders on 23rd October - how are the subscribers doing for their copies?)

 

[zambuck]

You have got to be kidding! My biggest complaint about TASC is that they will hardly ever give anything but the mildest criticism of anything - they will never comparitively review, never suggest that one thing is better or more suitable than another. They are so desperately, desperately concerned to be even handed (and not offend any advertisers?) that their reviews are close to worthless, IMHO.

I've just re-read that "review" of Updata - most of it might as well have come from the product literature (I'm not suggesting that it did, but the article is, in common with the vast majority of their "reviews", such an anodyne list of "it does this, it does this" that it might as well have been), with only the merest hints of opinion or qualitative judgement included - "... whether [it] is significantly more complex... is .. in the eye of the beholder..", "..providing the level and amount of free support ... helps ...take the greatest advantage of .. the software".

Nearly all the reviews are the same - list of features, very slightest hint of opinion, but no value judgement whatsoever. If they reviewed cars, they'd be publishing reviews along the lines of "the GiantMotorCorp Monstro 382324Z includes many useful feature for the modern driver. As well as the by now standard SteeringWheel TM technology, also found in many other competing packages, it also includes a full complement of 4 pneumatic wheels aligned in close proximity to the road. While it does show an occasional tendency to veer wildly off the road and head for the nearest tree, the bodywork is beatifully painted, and we're sure than most drivers will find that overall the benefits are worth any small rough edges in the overall system".

It's a good magazine in many ways, but their reviews are utterly gutless.

I agree with you zzaxx99 on your observations on reviews of products in TASC....I used to subscribe to TASC and have copies going back many a years...but I don't remember a single review when anything seriously bad said about any product....

Funnily enough I have the original spill that was handed out by Updata at the launch of TA....and reading the TASC review it all appears almost the same...!!

Anyway traders don't buy a product purely from review spill only....!!!

 

[Nildes]

FWIW, I think the P&F charting on Updata is very good and is probably the feature I use the most.
Reviews aside. I think it is a generally sound product.

 

[DaveJB]

Well, when the cost of a single page colour advert is a somewhat eye-watering $8123 per issue (double page spread $14850 per issue) you've to be fairly sure of your ground before you offend an advertiser <g>
They don't (at least they didn't in my case) rely on the company involved for text, although the reviewer in my case emailed me whenever clarification was needed on anything and I got to read the draft review. I suspect it IS policy to only think nice thoughts and say nice things - criticism does tend to be mild, and if you are familiiar with the topic of the review yourself I think most of us would be rather more scathing of the odd one to nip past.
As has been said already, traders don't (or shouldn't, at least) buy based on mag reviews - reviews on the web, user comments, etc are generally not hard to come by, I usually find a small amount of web research gives me a decent handle on whatever I am considering buying. If a product is okay then you find 'ordinary' users will say that, so TAS&C (and others) are useful for a look at what the program includes. When all is said and done you can't expect a staff writer to be able to criticise a P&F program one month, Elliot Wave the next, and rattle off a bunch of other stuff as well - if you look at the output from David Penn and his fellow writers you'll see they have to cover quite a lot of ground and can't really be expected to find all the warts (which might not, of course, even exist!)

Dave

 

[zambuck]

...so are you saying that one should read the reviews but really should not take too much notice of it....??...as it is written by a staff writer who really hasen't spent a lot of time with the package...!!

 

[DaveJB]

What I'm suggesting is that you don't rely on the staff writer's opinion as their main focus is going to be on trying to cover the features in the program, and they are unlikely to place emphasis on the warts... the review will show you the main features, possibly a few charts they have called up, which is a decent way to see whether the program is likely to be of interest.
You made the valid point earlier that they are seldom criticial - so I would not buy a program based on TAS&C saying it's a good buy... I'd look for comment from existing users to get the 'warts and all' version of how it works. That doesn't make the review worthless, it has still provided a fairly good (usually) guided tour of program features.
Who would you trust to highlight the pros and cons of a program like Updata? It's been out a fair while, has a good few users, opinions both pro and con are fairly abundant.... against that we have David Penn's opinion, a chap who I'm sure is very nice but I'd also guess a comparative newbie at using the program - perfectly competent to assess the inbuilt tools etc as being a good set, well implemented and so on, but not somebody who has been using the program day in/day out in the manner a user like Mayfly here does. I'd also guess David Penn probably isn't still running it - he'll have the next review program loaded up and he'll be knee deep in Gann Angles by now or whatever...

Dave

 

[Nildes]

Updata has so many features, it would be difficult to write a review that did justice to them all.
Of course I think some features are better than others but maybe thats because I favour them anyway.
Some like the Biorythms make me laugh.......but my approach is only one of many and other users swear by other features.
I think a review which explores the features of a product which is, in any case, available for a free trial, isn't doing anyone a disservice if it doesn't criticise.
Like shoes, try them on, see if they fit you.

 

[zambuck]

....but at least you are able try 'many' shoes before you pick the one you prefer and the the one that fits....!!

 

[Nildes]

True..... most suppliers have been more than helpful.
When I wanted to take a look at PFscan, I was given every assistance, pointed towards web sites etc and never ever put under any pressure to buy.
When I used Sharescope, they were the same too and the online community very helpful and friendly.
I think most are happy to let their products speak for themselves....which suits me ;0)

Nildes

 

[DaveJB]

yeah,
pfscan's good like that - what were the others called again? (<g> Sorry, I avoid advertising, but sometimes the devil, as they say, made me do it....)

It's a fair point, in my view - UK software producers (and I speak as very much a customer, not just as a producer) are not too inclined to provide SDK's etc to allow you to tap into their efforts - US giants almost all allow this... as a small fry type I'd be happy to do it, I'm just too darn busy with what I consider to be the essentials to indulge in the less important. The obverse of the coin is that I've always found other software producers to be very friendly (UK, Australia, Germany) or a bit more hard nosed (USA) even when they know I'm a competitor - US programs try to sell you on themselves, in the UK (and even more so with Aussie software Iv'e tried) they're happy to let you decide after a free trial and no hard feelings if you go elsewhere.

I'm very much of the view that if you buy from me it should be because you like the program after a decent trial period - I don't want dissatisfied customers. Many people who want to try P&F will trial Updata or Pfscan to see if it suits - a month later it does or it doesn't, anyone who thinks I need £60 so much I'll lie or cheat for it is unaware of my lifestyle <g> The same goes for Investorease, Sharescope, Hot Trader, and a bunch of others... I'm not unusual, for the UK, I would suggest that by taking a trial from ANY UK software producer you'll get a month or so of free advice, and no whinging if you buy elsewhere - THAT is never going to come across from a TASC review, so the review is a good basis to say "I'm interested in this" from, but far from all you need to know before paying hard cash out.

Dave