Mac Forum / Applications / Mac Applications / February 2005

Oddly enough, although the Mac dealer where I resided in 1983 when
I bought my first computer disqualified himself and the entire
Apple orgie by demanding to look at every line of code that I
ever wrote for his incompetently manufactured *floppy* disk drives
which might otherwise promptly burn out from ever being accessed,
the fact is that my solution doesn't care whether it is used on
a Mac or "IBM compatible" computer.
   The only proggies that I actually use, for screening anything
or for tracking my portfolio, are proggies that I have written
myself in a language with which both I and any DOS based system
are mutually comfortable.  I write all of my own programs for
those purposes, compile them into efficiently executable code
for the computer using a compiler related to the language
platform, and there I have exactly what I want the computer to
do in exactly the way that I want it done and never mind
dependence on "other people's problem" proggies.  Woulda done
the same thing with a Mac if the dealer hadn't been trying to
poke his stinking nose into my business in the manner that the
convicted criminal predatory Microsoft monopoly does by setting
up trapdoors and access routes to what is none of his/their
business but only a criminal abrogation of the Article IV of
US Constitution Amendments "illegal searches" of computer owner
property.
   If you can't find some "other people's problem" proggie,
*THE* solution is to write one yourself that does exactly what
you want it to do in the way you want it done.  It's what those
programmable logic devices called "computers" were originally
intended for, prior to the time that scammers and frauds began
imposing their incompetent and useless problem proggies on the
once civilized computing world.
   Boob    :-)##

Have you covered your nut yet this year?  If not, may I suggest
researching http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html
instead of listening to hypists in misc.invest.stocks?  If you wish
to email me go to http://home.earthlink.net/~bgrumbin

The best screener I've seen, free or otherwise, is at businessweek.com.
Alas, all the value it provides in screening is minimized by its lack
of a save feature. You can't save your criteria. Pretty dumb. MSN's
Money site (money.msn.com) has some useful pre-built screens, and a
rudimentary Web-based screener. I mostly use the screeners that come
with my Schwab and Vanguard accounts, neither of which are perfect at
dealing with Macs.

I have a good friend who happens to share the same interests as I do.
Besides investing, using technical analysis, we both do radio control planes
and electronic hobby projects.  He is a MAC guy and I use a PC running Win
XP.  Long story short, after three years of coming over to my house, and
seeing what I can do on the PC that he cannot do on his MAC he bit the
bullet and for less than $1k he bought a great Dell system.  He gave the MAC
to his wife since it was her idea to "move up" to the MAC.  He regrets not
going with the PC years ago because he was under the allusion that the MAC
was so easy to use and it had "an elegant" design.  He has come to realize
that a computer is a tool, get the one that is right for the job.  If you're
into desktop publishing then probably the MAC is the better tool for that
job.  If you are into designing and developing applications for PIC chips
then it is the wrong tool for that job.  We several folks in our AAII
investment club who swear by TC2000.  I don't think it is available on the
MAC.  I often use Tradestation 2000i for technical analysis.  Not available
for the MAC.

If you stick with the internet based tools, then the MAC should be OK.  I
like StockCharts.com for charting and screening as a first look.