For the benefit of Equis management, here is a series of quotes regarding the opinion about Metastock 12 from the masses (taken from the Yahoo Metastock forum). Each paragraph represents a separate user.
Thomson-Reuters do not seem to be interested in developing and continuing MetaStock. Metastock is probably not a big enough money maker for them. Charging for the program and requiring that we are then charged for data is a bit expensive.
There are just too many other charting/data vendors out there to keep paying what MS wants in their business model. GM seized the advantage when Ford would only sell black painted cars. It seems now that MS day in the sun has come and gone as well. Most brokers will provide both datafeeds and software platforms for free or nearly so if you only make a min number of trades per month. After all that is the point isnt it, chart so that you can make wise trades? Anyone just charting for a hobby should take up needlepoint! Certainly less expensive, in many ways!
from ms10.1 to 12 there are not so important and revolutianary innovations so we can live very well without ms12 and its limits
Pulling from the servers as needed does impact the Explorer. Previously when running EOD explorations from on-line, the time went from minutes to hours. This was accross a dedicated high-speed line.
I am terribly disappointed in Metastock 12 and what it cannot do. It sounds like they are abandoning the community of users and their preferences in favor of going forward with their own online aganeda and data provider agenda.
Metastock has been declining steadily since the original makers departed i.e. Steve Achelis etc.
It is clumpy and outdated. The time servers are at the topnow and have let it all slide into obscurity.
I reamin very disappointed and will slowly shift elsewhere. Hard to do after 10+ years with Metastock and have been a strong fan of theirs to the community at large...
If they were smart, they would have taken inputs from a forum like ours and addressed the real wants from users like me.
MetaStock has been famous for open solutions (data format and conversion, import/export of functions). Now they locked the door.
It could be that I did not understand the program that well, but I think I did. Anyway, I could not see what Metastock 12 could do that Metastock 11 couldn't.
I am looking to change from Ms as it gets more useless. A lot of brokers do just as good charts for free.
Wow! With those limitations, I am sure the user base will shrink dramatically. Unless they decide to change, MS will eventually become a relic of the past (it is probably moving swiftly in that direction now). There are just too many other choices available rather than having to put up with so many limitations. I own an older version of MS that I rarely use. I have migrated to other sources that meet all of my needs.
Equis has come to a crossroads,updating the program or updating the data feed? They feel that most users will stick with the program and enjoy the benefits of a cloud based data source. It offers no constant downloading and maintenance of the database, only longer exploration times, no way to incorparate the new database into other programs.They feel that a user will accept this tradeoff if he only does one or two explorations a day. This way they control and maximize the user cost. They really need to find new ways to increase functionality in the program or they will lose users to more modern software programs!
Reuters and Equis know very little if anything about really trading. They sell prices and other information. Consequently there is no reason to think they will evolve into something more useful to this group. I can’t help thinking they are similar to Kodak who originally developed the digital camera but didn’t know what to do with it because they sold film.
I am bitter and angry as I have invested years developing systems and techniques around this software. Only to see this go to dogs.....
The S&C have just put out a. rave review of Metastock 12 would it not be an idea to give the uniformed a different view point of view. Bill.
Editor@traders.com
Longtime MS (v4 - v11) user just switched to AmiBroker. While conversion of all my templates/explorations/custom indicators/layouts is painful, it's also liberating as I know MS is now a dinosaur.
MetaStock Software "Richard Siletti just saw your post on Windows 8. Sorry we haven't responded sooner. Metastock 12 and MetaStock 12 Pro were not developed to run in Windows 8. Having said that, Metastock 12 has been running okay in our testing thus far. Metastock Pro 12 will give you issues due to compatibility with the real-time data feed. We are currently working on this issue." I have no idea what Equis were thinking... Windows 8 was announced in late 2008. Maybe they didn't have enough time to accommodate Windows 8 and lock out local data.
Note: not one comment praising Metastock 12.