I want to take a few minutes to cover some of the basic and fundamental
uses of the personal computer as it relates to investing in and trading
common stocks. For those of you that already know all this, I ask that you
please just bear with us for a few more moments.

I'll just cover the most basic functions at this time. We'll get a little deeper
into computers and software applications a little later.

One of the most basic use's of the computer is to get stock quotes. You
can find 15 to 20 minute delayed quotes in the (personal finance) area
of just about all the online service providers. (MSN, Yahoo, AOL, etc.)
They're all quite good and you'll find plenty of information.

You can also find quotes on the Internet. Almost all the online discount
brokerage house's offer stock quotes on their site as a way to entice new
viewer's into checking out what they offer. You just log on to the Internet
through your Internet service provider (ISP) and use your browser and
search engine to look for (online discount stock brokers). It's easy!

You'll also find a category on just about every provider that will allow you
to get (company news). Most of the one's I've checked will show you all of
the news articles released on the company you've chosen. Most of the
providers show everything released as far back as two weeks or more.

You can also use your computer to open up a trading account. The total
number of online discount brokerage sites has increased at a explosive
rate. There is no shortage of places to open your account. I'll tell you who
they are and how to find them in just a few minutes, so don't worry!

Once you open a trading account you'll be able to use your computer to
access the (online computer trading and information programs) offered
by your new online brokerage. You'll be able to check the status of your
account and the progress of your investment portfolio 24 hours a day.

For those of you that want to take total control of your trading destiny, a
vast amount of new stock market software has come to the rescue. You
can do your own technical-analysis of individual stocks, follow market
sectors, rate stock mutual funds, study trends, and trade in real-time, just
like the professional big-shots. Yes, I'll tell you about the software too.