Mikey,
You mentioned that Jerry Medved said to try Multicharts as an alternative to QT. It is a good suggestion, but it is very pricey....too pricey to suit me. (I did bookmark the site) In the past, I have used PC Quote for a couple of years, and what is now called Tradestation for another couple of years. Since then I have used QT with IQ Feed most of the time. I now use A-trade as my quote source.
I am still exploring possibilities as an alternative to QT, just in case. If I could find a good quote grid that supplies a RT news feed to each symbol on the list, and at a reasonable price, I am interested. I could always use an external source for charting.
I hope others will jump in here with ideas for alternatives as well.