|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
> <<Omega's reasoning (explanation to me) appears be that they were having too
> many versions of software floating around SC4EOD, SC4RT, TS4EOD, TS4RT,
> etc, etc. and this would further drain limited resources. Also, they would
> be getting too many product returns because some users, as soon as they
> would realize the limitations of their package, would want to upgrade
> within the 30 day trial. And some people would be upset once they learned
> of those limitations past that period and would then have to upgrade 1 step
> at a time.
>
> So in that context, I would agree with their decision to have only 1
> version each of SC and TS.>>
Well - I'm not sure that makes much sense. Let me give you a little
background. When I first started to learn technical analysis (in 1993) - the
first program I bought was Metastock. And - within a couple of weeks - I
wanted to do what I thought was some very simple stuff - like experiment with
percentage reversal systems. Metastock couldn't handle a variable system like
that. So I called Omega - and they said - sure - SuperCharts (2.0) can do it.
So I bought SuperCharts.
When I had trouble with the EL programming (later that week) and called Omega
support - I was told - no - SuperCharts doesn't support variables and systems
like that - you'll have to buy TradeStation. Well - when you're a beginner -
you don't much feel like spending $1000 off the bat - and I thought I was the
victim of a "bait and switch". So I put SC away for a while until I met
someone who showed me how to use all the EL capabilities in the program. As we
all know - the EL capabilities of earlier versions of SuperCharts were crippled
a long time ago. So - if you want full EL capabilities now - you need to buy
TS.
Now I'm not a day trader - but I frankly can't imagine anyone trading intraday
without at least having the capability of testing systems which make use of
non-crippled EL. OTOH - I can see a lot of EOD people using - or at least
experimenting with - systems which need full EL capabilities. So if I were
going to get rid of any single program - from a logical user POV - I'd get rid
of RT SC - not EOD TS (Omega still sells RT SC- yes?).
OTOH - from Omega's POV - there are probably 2 kinds of users. Beginners who
don't know better - whether they're trying to work EOD or RT. And people who
know better. People who know better won't settle for crippled EL - which IMO
isn't any better than what you can get from lots of other software vendors.
And - if someone really needs full EL programming capabilities - they'll
probably pay for it - whether they use it for EOD or RT systems. So I think
it's probably a marketing thing to force people who need complete EL
programming capabilities to pay full freight - whether their work is RT or EOD.
And I guess marketing is the big question mark for a lot of software
companies. Once a software company comes out with a definitive product that a
large percentage of the targeted user base buys and likes - what does the
company do for an encore? With the Y2K problem - I guess a lot of companies
can get a one time revenue boost by making everyone buy a Y2K compliant version
of the software. But what then? I am still using Managing Your Money for DOS
12, Word Perfect for Windows 6.1, and SuperCharts 2.1. Were it not for the Y2K
problem - I'd use SC 2.1 forever. One reason I'm asking all these questions
about passwords, dongles and the like is because - if I spend a couple of
thousand dollars for a charting program - I want it to last a decade - and I
doubt that's in the interests of the people who sell the program. They
probably want to avoid the fate of the companies that sold MYM12 and WP 6.1 -
and I wonder how they're going to try to accomplish that goal. Robyn
|