Today's technology is apparent in almost all aspects of our day to day lives. One of the most recent introductions that is making its presence felt is on-line trading in today's stock market. Since the introduction of on-line trading, many implications, both positive and negative, exist. Which will out weigh the other is the question left unanswered.

Strengths of trading over the internet include such things as:

• The use of the latest and most efficient technology available. On-line trading companies such as E-trade and Charles Schwab spend the extra money needed so that their on-line visitors will have the privileges of fast and accurate trading service.

• Elimination of almost all uses of paper for orders and trades.  If you have ever experienced filling out a buy / sell order form, you realize that the elimination of this step makes buying and selling stocks much easier.

• Increases the accuracy of placing orders.  With so many different stocks with similar symbols available on the different markets today, it is easy to get the symbols confused.  If you place your order directly yourself, you eliminate the middle man, and reduce the chances that your order is placed incorrectly.  With on-line trading, you also don't have to risk leaving your request to buy / sell on the voice mail of your broker, in the event that they are away from their phone.

• Increases the speed of placing orders.  With the evolution of on-line trading, you no longer have to stay on hold for what seems like a life time in order to talk to your broker to place an order.  If your stock is moving fast and you're ready to buy or sell, it's all at your finger tips with on-line trading.

• Allows for better record keeping and regulation by investors, brokers, and regulatory organizations such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  With traditional trading, the blunt of record keeping is on the shoulders of the brokers and their firms.  With on-line trading, investors are given a user name and password, allowing each transaction to be easily traced.  In the unlikely event that your password is stolen, the transactions can usually be traced back by determining what internet service provider was used and from there, the person who's account was used.

• Trades processed faster.  By directly placing your buy / sell order on-line, your transaction is processed almost instantaneously.  On the other hand, when using a traditional broker, you convey your request to the broker, he / she fills out the necessary paper work, then places the order.  With on-line trading you eliminate these tedious steps.

• Investors are more informed about their investment decisions.  In my opinion, this is one of the most important by-products of on-line trading.  You, as an investor, are able to keep track of the day to day fluctuations of the stocks you are invested in. Most on-line trading services offer programs that allow you to make a portfolio of all your stocks, enabling you to view the value of each of your stocks without even having to search for each one individually.  When using a traditional broker, you are trusting his/her experience and knowledge, and usually only know second hand of the status of your investment.

Weaknesses of trading over the internet include such things as:

• Concerns about security.  One of the primary concerns most      people have with conducting any kind of transaction on the internet is security.  When conducting transactions on-line in most cases, you must provide payment by typing in either your credit card number or bank account number, along with other pertinent information, such as full name, address, and somtimes even drivers license and social security number.  If someone had this much information about you, there is no limit to what they could do (Have you ever seen the movie, The Net?).

• Difficulty of credit card and bank account transfers.  When entering in that 16 digit long credit card number, it is easy to get a number incorrect.  Also, in the case of bank accounts, you are usually asked for your banks routing number as well, which most people are not familiar with.  A less common problem is that some of the smaller banks still require a written authorization to transfer money into and out of your account.

• Must have access to the Internet.  Although most of us do have access to the internet, either through work or at home, this is an important issue for those who do not.  Also, this is becoming less of a problem as the prices charged by internet service providers is continually decreasing.  Some providers such as NetZero are providing unlimited monthly access free of charge.

• High cost of obtaining computer equipment.  Again, most of us do have access to a computer with a modem capable of connecting to the internet, but for those who do not, this is a serious consideration.  However, computer prices are also on the decrease, with companies such as Hewlett Packard and Compaq selling PC's for less than $1000, and other companies selling the full package for little more than $500.  If  you are prepared to invest money in the stock market, this is probably a price you are willing to pay.

• What happens if your on-line trading site goes down?  This happened to E-trade in February, causing some investors to lose millions.

• Limited, if any, available access to a live person.  Most on-line trading companies offer help through customer service lines and e-mail help, but have only a few trained people to answer these incoming calls and e-mails.  Also, when tragedy strikes and something happens to the trading site, it is almost impossible to reach a live person.

• Who is held responsible if the site does go down and you lose millions?  If you invest with a broker and he/she makes a mistake, the brokerage firm is held responsible as long as you can prove fault.  However, in the case of an on-line trading site malfunction, who is held responsible?