MacTicker is a simple Internet application that lets you view the free stock market information provided online by financial websites around the world. You can watch any number of your stocks roll by on the ticker, or call up a detailed report for each of your favorites.
MacTicker updates this information once a minute right on your desktop. You can configure it to alert you to stocks that are doing particularly well, or warn you to sell that stinker.
MacTicker gives you all the charms of the stock market, without the traders.
What you need
To run MacTicker you need the following things:
— A PowerPC-based Macintosh computer. Galleon Software also maintains a version of MacTicker that runs on older 68000-based Macintosh computers. You can download this application from <http://www.galleon.com/upgrades/index.html >.
— System 7.5 or better.
— Open Transport. Open Transport has been part of the Mac OS for a few years now, but in its early days it was presented as an optional way of connecting to the Internet. If you are running System 7.5, make sure you’re running the final version for that system, Open Transport 1.1.2. If you do not have this version on your original installation disks, you can download it from <http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n10739>. More recent versions of the Mac OS include Open Transport as the standard way of connecting to the Internet. If you are running System 8 or later, you should already be running Open Transport.
— 4 MB of application RAM .
— Internet Config (or the Internet control panel under Mac OS 8.5 and later). If you are not running Mac OS 8.5, it’s likely that you already have Internet Config installed on your computer, since most every Internet application includes it as part of its installation. You can also download the latest version from <ftp://ftp.stairways.com/stairways/internetconfig-20.sit.bin>.
— An IP connection to the Internet. MacTicker supports modem or direct network connections. It does not support indirect Internet access through such online services as America Online or CompuServe.
Installing MacTicker
MacTicker comes in a single self-extracting archive containing the following things:
— An unregistered version of MacTicker configured to run in demo mode .
— The MacTicker user guide. To read it, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0, or later. You can download this for free from most online services or directly from Adobe at <http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html>.
If you downloaded MacTicker, your browser likely decompressed the archive for you and created a folder named MacTicker among your other downloads.
To decompress the archive manually, double-click on the icon and follow the instructions to choose where you want to save the MacTicker folder.
Evaluating MacTicker
When you first install MacTicker, it is configured to run in demonstration mode until you enter a valid serial number. An unregistered copy of MacTicker runs for fifteen minutes before it quits, but otherwise lets you evaluate all of MacTicker’s features before you decide to purchase a serial number.
Registering MacTicker
To purchase a serial number, visit the MacTicker website at:
<http://www.galleon.com/macticker/purchase>
To register Macticker:
(1) Disable any virus protection you may have running on your computer.
(2) Double-click on the MacTicker icon to start the application.
(3) From the Apple menu, choose Register MacTicker.
(1) The Registration dialog appears.
(4) Enter your name and a valid serial number.
(5) Click Register.
MacTicker pauses a moment while it verifies your serial number, and then thanks you for registering.
(6) Click Close.
(7) Re-enable your virus protection.
Connecting to the Internet
Your computer may be connected to the Internet through your Local Area Network, or you might connect over the phone using a modem and point-to-point protocol (PPP). Whatever the case, MacTicker uses the connection to the Internet you already have in place. When you start MacTicker, the application connects automatically. Unless you connect to the Internet through a SOCKS firewall, there is nothing else for you to configure or install. For more information, refer to Using MacTicker.
If you are not already connected to the Internet, contact a local Internet service provider for assistance. Their Technical Support department can help you configure your computer to connect to the Internet.
Note: MacTicker only supports direct IP access to the Internet. It does not support indirect Internet access through such online services as America Online or CompuServe. If you are unsure of the type of Internet service you have, contact your Internet service provider.
Updating from an earlier version of MacTicker
If you are updating your copy of MacTicker from an earlier version, simply replace your old application with the new application. When you first start the new version, it automatically recognizes your original MacTicker serial number and converts your preference file and your stock list to the latest MacTicker format. You’ll find the old versions of these files in your Preferences folder, in a folder named MacTicker ƒ.
Note: Once you start using the new version of MacTicker, you should discard the old version. If you attempt to run the old version using the new preferences, the old version of MacTicker won’t recognize them and will overwrite both files.
Where is all this information coming from?
MacTicker gathers stock quotes from the following online financial sites. Each of these sites offer free delayed stock quotes, although they invite you to subscribe to their real-time service. Delayed service is well suited for the casual investor. Real-time service, on the other hand, transmits market data as it occurs and is needed by only the most committed investors looking for up-to-the-minute information. MacTicker does not support real-time quotes.
i|money <http://www.imoney.com> i|money is based in Toronto. From their website, they offer access to a wide variety of financial products and services along with timely and comprehensive financial news and information. Their stock quotes are provided by Reuters and are delayed by 15 minutes.
PC Quote <http://www.pcquote.com> is based in Chicago. From their website, they offer data for more than 250,000 issues on all U.S. and Canadian equities and options. Their quotes are delayed 20 minutes, unless otherwise noted.
Quote.com <http://www.quote.com> is based in Mountain View, California. From their website, they offer free delayed security quotes for securities traded on U.S. and Canadian exchanges; this includes over 12,000 stocks; 100,000 options; 300 indexes; 500 commodity futures; and 7,500 mutual funds. Quotes from the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange are delayed by at least 20 minutes. All other quotes are delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Yahoo! <http://quote.yahoo.com> is based in Santa Clara and boasts of being the world’s most popular online guide to the Internet. Their stock quotes are provided by Reuters Limited, and are delayed 15 minutes for the NASDAQ exchange, 20 minutes otherwise.
Yahoo! UK & Ireland <http://finance.uk.yahoo.com> is based in London and provides a localized version of Yahoo’s guide to the Internet. Their stock quotes are provided by Standard & Poor’s Comstock and Fininfo España and are sourced from the London Stock Exchange, Bourse de Paris, Cedborsa and Deutsche Börse AG, Oslo Børs, and Stockholms Fondbörs. Quotes from the London Stock Exchange are delayed by 20 minutes, 15 minutes for Deutsche Börse AG, Cedborsa, and Oslo Børs, and 30 minutes for Bourse de Paris and Stockholms Fondbörs. Quotes from Spanish markets are provided by Sociedad de Bolsas, Bolsa de Madrid, Bolsa de Barcelona, Bolsa de Bilbao, and Bolsa de Valencia. Quotes from the Continuous Market are delayed by 15 minutes. Quotes from the outcry markets are closing prices.
Yahoo! Australia & NZ <http://quote.yahoo.com.au> is based in Sydney, NSW and provides a localized version of Yahoo’s guide to the Internet. Quote data is provided by Bourse Data Australia and sourced from the Australian Stock Exchange. Quotes available are for previous end-of-day close only.
Error Codes
Occasionally MacTicker may encounter an error with your Internet connection or with the server to which you are attempting to connect. These errors appear in the bottom line of the full-sized stock reports.
-1 According to the domain name resolver, the server does not exist.
-2 The domain name resolver took too long to find the server and timed out.
-3 The domain name resolver could not find the server for some other reason.
-4 The server did not respond to MacTicker’s request. Connection error.
-5 The server could not send the page. (404 Page Not Found errors, for example.)
-6 The server told MacTicker to try the request again.
-7 The connection timed out communicating with the server.
-8 Another, unidentified error was returned by the server.
-9 MacTicker ran out of memory.
-10 You are not connected to the Internet.
-11 The request was cancelled.
-12 Internal application use only.
-13 MacTicker could not contact your firewall application (or your proxy server) or resolve the IP address. Most likely an invalid address or port.
-14 Connection timed out communicating with your firewall application (or your proxy server). There may be too much traffic, or the proxy server could be down.
-15 MacTicker could not log onto your firewall application. Check your User Name and Password.
Changes since version 1.1
— We corrected a problem that was preventing MacTicker from connecting to Quote.com and returning -4 errors.
Changes since version 1.0.3
— We completely redesigned MacTicker’s ticker engine. This allows MacTicker to run with less memory and allows you to display the ticker at large font sizes, up to 156 points. The old engine required us to buffer stock information and often resulted in the information on the ticker not matching that on the stock reports. Now, the latest stock information replaces the old information on the ticker as soon as it’s received; if the information for a stock changes as it’s scrolling across the ticker, we now display that information immediately.
— We added support for SOCKS firewalls. MacTicker retrieves the firewall’s address from the global settings maintained by Internet Config (or the Internet control panel under Mac OS 8.5 and later). To enter your User Name and Password, choose Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced and fill out the SOCKS Proxy fields. For more information on connecting to the Internet through a SOCKS firewall, refer to Using MacTicker.
— MacTicker now works with Surf Express. Previously you had to disable Surf Express in order to use MacTicker.
— You can now specify unique source and alert parameters for individual stocks and override the standard parameters. To allow this, choose Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced and select Advanced Stock Settings; stocks are then added and edited as before, except that the edit window includes the additional fields required to specify the unique parameters for each stock. Note: Overriding the source for a particular stock, forces MacTicker to always retrieve a detailed update for that stock. As discussed below in “Changes since version 1.0.2”, detailed quotes take considerably longer than the standard quick quotes, so you should not overuse this option unless you have a fast connection to the Internet.
— You can now display the percentage change in the ticker.
— Normally, stock prices are displayed in the format used by the stock exchange you’ve chosen for each stock. Some exchanges publish their results as decimal numbers, others as the more traditional fractions. MacTicker now allows you to choose the display you prefer: convert all your stock prices to fractions or decimals, or leave each price in the format used by the exchange. Also, MacTicker now supports fractions down to 1/64th of a point.
— Double-clicking on an item in the ticker now brings up the report for that stock. And of course you can use the report modifier keys to choose the size of report you want. For example, to open a small report, hold down Control while you double-click on the ticker.
— In order to conform to report modifier keys, we changed the way you drag the ticker. You now hold down Command.
— To bring up the edit dialog for a particular stock, hold down the Command key and choose that stock from the Stocks menu.
— We added a tools button to the large stock report. Click on this button to bring up a menu that lets you edit the parameters for that stock, print the report for that stock, or jump to your favorite trading site on the Internet.
To define a trading site, choose Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced, click Enable Trading Site, and enter the URL for that site in field below. MacTicker includes two variables you can include in this URL: <<symbol>> and <<name>>. When you jump from a stock report to your trading site, MacTicker replaces any occurrences of <<symbol>> with the stock symbol from that report. It replaces any occurrences of <<name>> with the company name you entered for that stock. For example, if you enter
http://www.trade.com/stock=<<symbol>>
You can jump from your Apple report to the following URL
http://www.trade.com/stock=AAPL
— You can now quickly sort your list of stocks on symbol and company name. To do so, click on the appropriate headings in the Stocks list.
Changes since version 1.0.2
The sources from which MacTicker gathers its information typically offer two levels of details in their stock reports: “detailed” quotes return all the data available for a particular stock, while “quick” quotes return only the data that is likely to change throughout the day.
Whenever you start MacTicker, it requests detailed quotes from each of its sources. Regular updates throughout the day request only quick quotes. The update button on the large stock report, however, requests a detailed quote for that stock and updates all fields on the report.
— We modified the Update All Reports function. Now, when you choose File -> Update All, MacTicker requests detailed quotes from each of its sources. It used to request only quick quotes.
— If you want MacTicker to always request detailed quotes whenever it updates your stock quotes, choose Edit -> Preferences -> Sources and select Always Force Detailed Update. This is a new preference. Note: Detailed quotes take considerably longer than quick quotes, so you should only use this option if you have a fast connection to the Internet.
— We added the ability to quickly get just the report size you want. To select a small report, hold down the Control key while you make your selection in the Stocks menu. To select a medium report, hold down the Option or Alt key. To select a large report, hold down the Shift key.
— The report modifier keys also work when you click on a report’s zoom box. For instance, to change a report’s size to small, hold down Control while you click in the zoom box.
— The report modifier keys also work when you choose Open All Reports. For instance, to open all your stock reports as medium reports, hold down Option or Alt while you select File -> Open All Reports.
— We fixed a bug that prevented report positions from being saved correctly from session to session.
— We now display today’s volumes in the stock ticker. We used to display trading volume, and too many of our sources reported this as Volume = 0.
— Open stock reports are now indicated by a diamond next to their entry in the Stocks menu.
— We added a command key equivalent for Preferences (Y).
Changes since version 1.0.1
— We added support for the Australian Stock Exchange through Yahoo Australia & NZ.
— We added the ability to disable automatic updates. To do so, choose Preferences -> Sources; for Update Quotes Every, choose Manually.
— We added the ability to manually update all stock reports, as desired. To do so, choose File -> Update All Reports.
— We added the ability to open and close the reports for all the stocks in the stock list. To open all the stock reports, choose File -> Open All Reports. To close all the reports, choose File -> Close All Reports.
— We added command key equivalents for Update All Reports (K) and Edit Stock List (E).
— Stocks with prices less than one monetary unit now display correctly.
— We fixed a bug where entering a blank company name would cause the Edit menu to dim.
— We fixed a bug that caused MacTicker to stop or quit if you weren’t connected to a network.
Changes since version 1.0
— Fixed a bug that prevented a registered copy of MacTicker from running if AppleTalk was inactive.
Known problems
The following is a list of known problems you may encounter with MacTicker. Galleon Software also maintains an up-to-date list of frequently asked questions and common problems on the following web page:
— There is a problem in certain versions of StuffIt Expander that can corrupt PDF files so that they cannot be opened. (Adobe Acrobat Reader asks you for a password for what is an unprotected document.) There are two ways to avoid this problem. (1) Change your Cross Platform preferences in StuffIt Expander to Never Convert Text Files to Macintosh Format. (2) When you download the MacTicker archive, choose Save Link As to prevent StuffIt Expander from automatically decompressing your downloads. (This works differently in different browsers.) Then double-click on the MacTicker archive and let the built-in decompressor do its job.
— If you choose a large font for your ticker or build an especially large list of stocks, MacTicker may run out of memory and crash. To avoid this problem, increase the amount of memory given to MacTicker in the Finder.
— MacTicker has problems interpreting empty or blank fields in certain of the quotes it receives. These may appear as zeros or other values that are obviously incorrect when compared to the other information on a stock’s report. Generally, however, we have encountered no problems with the Current Price or the Change. If this problem occurs on your stocks, consider choosing another source for your quotes, or choose a unique source for the stock that is causing the problem.
— There are a number of statistics on the stock reports that do not change throughout the day (the opening price, for instance), so MacTicker does not gather these statistics as frequently as those that do change. If you change the source for your quotes as suggested in the previous paragraph, you will not see these values change unless you click the update button or choose File -> Update All Reports.
Contacting Technical Support
As a registered purchaser of MacTicker, you are entitled to free technical support through e-mail and Galleon Software’s site on the World Wide Web. We suggest you try the website first, since that’s where you’ll find the latest update to the application and lists of frequently asked questions.
If you want to contact Galleon Software’s Technical Support department, send a message describing your problem to:
support@galleon.com
We’ll do our best to get back to you before the end of the business day. Galleon Software does not offer telephone support for MacTicker.
Galleon Software, the Galleon Software logo, MacTicker, and the MacTicker logo are trademarks of Galleon Software, Inc. America Online is a registered service mark of America Online, Inc. Macintosh, Mac, PowerBook, and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Open Transport and QuickDraw are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Compuserve is a registered trademark of Compuserve, Inc. Surf Express is a trademark of Connectix Corporation.PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. i|money is a trademark of Imoney Corp. Nasdaq is a trademark of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. PC Quote is a trademark of PC Quote, Inc. Yahoo! is a trademark of Yahoo! Inc.
