Each month in this Journal, our technical support staff addresses issues of interest to many CSI subscribers in a question-and-answer format. 

Notice:
  The views and information expressed in this document reflect the opinions and experience of the author Robert C. Pelletier.  Neither CSI nor the author undertake or intend to provide tax advice or trading advice in any market or endorse any outside individual or firm.  All recommendations are provided for their informational value only.  Readers should consult competent financial advisors or outside counsel before making any software purchase or investment decision.  CSI does not stand behind or endorse the products of any outside firms.

Copyright (c) 2001 Commodity Systems Inc. (CSI).  All rights are reserved.

Q.
    After installing Cybersitter to protect my children on the web, my Unfair Advantage (UA) software stopped working. I can't seem to get a complete download. What's going on?

A.
   The UA download is not compatible with the Cybersitter software or any other content-altering software. Please either disable such software when downloading (requires your password), remove it altogether, or add csidata.com to your "Always Allowable" websites list.

    On rare occasions, UA users have experienced corruption of the download file despite the fact that no content-altering software is activated. We were at first puzzled by data that mysteriously changed between transmission and receipt, but were able to find the culprit. A bug in Internet Explorer can cause its Content Advisor to enable itself, resulting in corrupted data files. If this is your situation, you must manually disable Content Advisor before downloading. Instructions are included in the Troubleshooting section of the online manual for UA 2.4.1. Please contact CSI technical support if you need assistance.

Q.
    I've heard and read that the futures exchanges delay their report of the current day's volume and open interest until the next trading day, yet the UA charts show volume and open interest plotted for the current trading day. What day are futures contract volume and open interest reported for? Are they for the current trading day or the previous trading day?

A.
    You have heard right. The actual volume isn't computed until the following morning along with the open interest. Each day after the close of the markets, the exchanges release the daily price summary along with the estimated total volume, which follows an earlier report of the previous day's volume and open interest. Unfair Advantage records the previous day's volume and open interest and estimates the current volume and open interest.

Q.
    I am interested in using the Perl language to do analysis with the UA's custom library. Would you please send me the code necessary to plot on-balance volume and a 50-day simple moving average of volume?

A.
    Sorry, but the "Custom" study feature is provided as a tool for users who wish to program their own custom analysis. We are here to help you with any problems or questions, but writing code goes beyond the scope of support we are able to give. We are in the process of adding several new technical indicators to UA's chart studies and will add your requests to the wish list of possible future additions. All UA subscribers are invited to send suggestions for software enhancements. Thank you!

Q.
    I'm interested in upgrading my UA version 2.3.6 through the website, but the "Support" screen says I need to get a new CD. Why is this and how do I upgrade?

A.
    Although we try to keep upgrades available for immediate download via the web, this is not always possible. Sometimes our enhancements are so significant that the newest version is not backward compatible with earlier versions of the database, requiring that both the database and the software be upgraded simultaneously. Such a massive data transfer requires shipment on CD-ROM. This was the case with UA v.2.4. If you have not yet received version 2.4 or higher on CD, you'll need to get a new CD before you can access any future upgrades on the web. 

    You may order a new CD from any CSI representative via phone or e-mail. The nominal fee covers our expenses in making and shipping the CD and accompanying documentation. This upgrade is not required to continue using CSI for updates -- just to get new software features. On those rare occasions when an upgrade is mandatory for continued service, we send a free release to all users.