I played options for a living in 1986. I had to rent a terminal and a dish for about $250/month for real time quotes. It was a small sat dish not much bigger than DirecTV has today. I would track my stocks then pick up the phone and call Schwab to place an order. It would sometimes take 5-10 minutes to get to talk to someone. All the while you are on hold listening to soothing music, or repeated DJIA quotations, you would watch the subject of your call heading the wrong direction.
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