Best Free Stock Trade Alerts

I'm convinced that short-term predictions of when to trade stocks are best viewed for their entertainment value.

I can't tell you if computerized buy and sell signals will help you achieve better results than a Magic 8-Ball could but if you want a tool that is just as simple to use I can point you to GStock.  GStock differs from other technical analysis tools in that it uses a peer-to-peer grid to backtest innumerable trading strategies and is very easy to use.  Just type in a stock symbol and you'll see if it's time to buy or sell. A free subscription lets you create a portfolio containing up to 100 stocks and get immediate email alerts when any of your portfolio stocks receive a Buy or Sell signal.  A paid subscription gives you access to an easy to use stock picker and daily email alerts for stocks with buy or sell signals.

You can also download and install GStock Calculation Software if you want your computer to become part of their virtual supercomputer grid.  It would be interesting to hear Cramer's review if GStock played Inspectd.

If you're looking for more traditional technical analysis software give SpiffyCharts a try.  Note that while the program is free it does not support data importing so a data subscription is required to obtain up-to-date data, which is vital for technical analysis.  In the end, keep in mind the admonition of Niels Bohr, a Nobel laureate in Physics:  "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future."
 
Technical Analysis Software:
GStock
Website: http://www.gstock.com/
License: Free - GSTOCK Terms of Use
Additional Software Required: Email client
Other relevant information: GSTOCK Terms of Use states "GRIDSTOCK Inc. does not advise nor suggest what securities you should buy or sell, when you should buy or sell, or why you should buy or sell."

Optional GStock Calculation Software:
Download Link:  http://www.gstock.com/page.php?pg=download
Author: GRIDSTOCK Inc.
Current Version: V1.1
Version date: January 2006
Download File size:  381 KiB (Optional GStock Calculation Software)
Operating Systems Supported:  Windows XP/2000/Me/98/95

Market Technicians Association, Inc.
Website: http://www.mta.org/eweb/DynamicPage.aspx?webcode=talinks

SpiffyCharts
Website: http://www.spiffycharts.com
Download Link: http://www.spiffycharts.com/register/
Author: Investors’ Technical Services
Current version: 2.4.7
Version date: 03/02/2008
License: Free with registration and activation
Download File size: 9 MiB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows, Macintosh, Linux
Portable Version Available: Yes
Non-English languages supported:
Other relevant information: Up-to-date data is currently provided by CSI, Dial Data, or MJK subscription services.
 
Waste of time department:

Yahoo! Widgets 8-Ball
Website: http://widgets.yahoo.com/widgets/8ball
Download Link: http://widgets.yahoo.com/download/
Author: Timothy Romero
Current version: 1.0
Version date: 8/17/2005
License: Free - Yahoo! Terms of Service
Download File size: 1.8 MiB
Operating Systems Supported: Windows Vista/XP SP2/2000 SP4, Mac OSX 10.3.9+
Additional Software Required: Yahoo! Widgets
Portable Version Available: No

Cramer's Sound Board
Website: http://www.cnbc.com/id/18724672/site/14081545/
Author: CNBC, Inc.

Inspectd
Website: http://www.inspectd.com/
Other relevant information: Fake Money. Real Stocks.

This category is maintained by volunteer editor Mike Dutch.