Mr_You

R and RStudio. Here is a very basic quick start guide.

If you have a PC with a decent amount of RAM (2GB or more) you might download and install VirtualBox (free open source virtualization software). This will enable you to run virtual machines on your PC. Install Linux or Windows in a VirtualBox virtual machine. Otherwise sign up with Amazon Web Services and use their EC2 service to boot up a VPS. It costs a few cents an hour. Try a Google search to find answers to any questions you might have.

Right now I'm only developing automated trading strategies. I'm just about to start forward testing my first strategy on small tick value instrument(s) using real money. It meets the requirements below. Its taken me along time to get here, but my confidence is growing. I've learned from an experienced retail/institutional trader that a usable (consistent) strategy must be profitable across multiple timeframes and multiple instruments and have an equity curve with no major drawdowns (no major cliffs). Meaning it can't be profitable on the 60M timeframe and blowup on a 59M timeframe and it needs to be profitable for ES, 6E, CL, etc. Like BlueHorseshoe says, if there is a perfect diagonal curve then something is wrong. PM me if you want to be pointed to a webinar from the automated trader mentioned above.

Maybe try importing your data into an SQL database. Some options to consider are: SQL Server Express (free with restrictions) or SQL Server (pay) by Microsoft MySQL by Oracle (free with restrictions) PostgreSQL by an Open Source Community (free with no restrictions) SQL Server Express may be the easiest for you. Make sure you backup your source data!

I'm not trading yet, but I'm leaning toward considering MB Trading and Interactive Brokers.

The best phone/platform for trading is the one best supported by your broker (most features, developer support, etc.). For example with Interactive Brokers, they seem to support the iPhone the best.

Just download/install NinjaTrader and get a Zen-Fire demo account. You can "reup" the demo account every other 30 days or so (for now).

The easiest for me, using NinjaTrader, was to get a demo account with Zen-Fire. It seems you can reup the demo about every other 30 days.

Steps to get you started: Step 1: Download and install NinjaTrader. Step 2: Play with the Market Analyzer and Strategy/Indicator Wizards. Step 3: Read the code generated by the wizards and understand it til you can modify. Keep playing and playing until your new software and methods give you enough confidence to use them to trade.

From what I've read Microsoft Security Essentials is the best AV program today for most users. Benchmarking has shown it uses lighter resources but protects well enough for most users. For most users there is no reason to pay for AV software.

The current version of NinjaTrader can only do Cumulative Delta with the "GOMI" indicator(s). The next major version is expected to have some builtin capabilities. Data feed wise, DTN/IQFeed (or Kinetick for NinjaTrader) is your best bet.

Download and install NinjaTrader (its free) and use its Market Replay feature and free (downloadable) data. Check out their site and view the tutorial videos to see how its done. You'll be able to replay Futures market data and test out your trading skills in "real-time" by replaying data for a given day versus only looking for potential opportunities from old charts.

I also think you will not learn how to trade from these signaling services because you do not learn the internals of how their signals are generated. You're better off learning a tried and true price action trading method. A quote from someone on another forum: "Zulutrade is not trading. It is gambling in my opinion."

FYI... Automated trading platforms use programming languages to execute trading algorithms ("if then trade"). Examples include NinjaTrader, TradeStation, MultiCharts, NeoTicker, etc. Trading signal services such as Zulutrade or Collective2 etc. are NOT automated trading platforms.

NinjaTrader. Its free for paper/sim trading. There is no monthly trial. You only pay when you want to trade live.

I'm leaning toward using MBTrading at first because they have low minimum funds requirements with no inactivity fees. Interactive Brokers is a close second, but has fees for inactivity.

At a minimum I would suggest using at least two SDHC "memory" cards as a cheap backup medium. They usually come with a USB card reader for computers that do not have a card reader built-in. They're commonly found at your local office supply stores. I use Google Chrome sync'ing and my Gmail/Google Account to "backup" my bookmarks. Any docs or pdfs are stored in Google Docs and not backed up locally. They're not critical though.

Evidence Based Technical Analysis for a statistics-based analysis of T.A. indicators. Generally speaking, from what I've read, there's only a handful of indicators used by most folks (in no particular order): SMA, EMA, ADX/DM, RSI, MFI, CCI, Bollinger Bands, Fibonancci, MACD, VWMA, VWAP. Most seem to "get back to the basics" by "trading naked" (without indicators) and using price action only or only rely on indicators that can help analyze price action.

As many have mentioned. It can take years (I'm still not there) and requires a methodical and systematic approach to research and execution. This is my "standard" response to those looking to get started: No school is going to teach you how to trade profitably. You only learn how to trade (algorithmic or discretionary) by teaching yourself, learning from a profitable mentor, or working for an true proprietary trading firm (paid job). My advice is to do what I'm doing and spend very little money on (supposed) "education" and teach yourself by jumping into sim/paper trading (using a live data feed) with your own ideas and research or get lucky by finding a job with an prop firm. The only way to be successful in trading is to put in the time. It could take years. Check into NinjaTrader for a low barrier to entry to getting up and running. Check out Evidence-based Technical Analysis for a primer into statistics-based technical analysis to give you a head start. Check out this forum and another "big" forum for very friendly and helpful people. There are LOTS of people describing their profitable strategies online in certain forums. I suggest following the system of one of these folks until you find one or a combination that works for you. Don't trade real money til you're not losing any in the sim. Post trading journals on the forums. Plan, plan, plan, plan.

If you are interested in the trading side (strategy development) then just go ahead and dive into paper/sim trading because no school is going to teach you how to trade profitably. Do what I'm doing and spend very little (if anything) on (supposed) trading "education" and teach yourself using a live data feed or Market Replay data and research/develop/explore your own ideas and others offered freely available online or in books. The only way to be successful in trading is to put in the time. It could take years. Check into NinjaTrader for a low barrier to entry to getting up and running. Check out Evidence-based Technical Analysis for a primer into statistics-based technical analysis. Check out this and another ("big") forum for very friendly and helpful resources.

You could try Ninja Traders Strategy or Indicator Wizards for free.

AlgoTrader http://code.google.com/p/algo-trader/ AlgoTrader is an automated trading system (ATS) that can trade any type of security on any market available through InteractiveBrokers or FIX. All aspects of trading like getting market data, analyzing prices, taking trade decisions, placing orders & tracking executions can be automated.

I thought others might find this Arstechnica article informative... Taking a stand: my experience working at an elevating desk "As a professional journalist and software development hobbyist, I generally spend between eight and eighteen hours a day using a computer. This effectively keeps me chained to my desk most of the day, and sometimes late into the night. To combat the physical discomfort of prolonged computer use, I reinvented my home office environment with a focus on ergonomics. The first thing I did was purchase a better chair—that's easily the most significant thing that you can do to make your office life better. After that, I started to look at desks. Last year, I became intrigued by the idea of a standing desk—a surface that is high enough to accommodate working from a standing position. Further research into the subject convinced me to buy a height-adjustable desk that can elevate to a standing position. After using it for most of the year, I doubt I'll ever want to go back to sitting all day."

Download NinjaTrader (for free). After installing, start it up. Click: File->Utilities->Download Replay Data->Select the Date of your choice->Ok. NinjaTrader download status will be in the lower right hand corner of the Control Center. Click: File->Connect->Market Replay->Select the Date of your choice in the Replay window. Now you can open charts, DOM, T&S and practice trading. More info is available on the NinjaTrader website. See their videos. Have fun!

Most (all?) free historical data is End-Of-Day (EOD) which to me means it is the closing price for the day.