Questions for essay

Hi there, I'm writing an essay (due on Wednesday 31!!) based on a reading of Manuell Castells (author of "The Rise of the Network Society), and am relating the reading to the experience of private traders on the sharemarket and comparing/contrasting to algorithmic trading/bots etc. Would very much appreciate feedback on a couple of issues I want to cover.

Information flows: When I'm trading, (or just generally fixating on my shares!) I usually have lots of screens up, e.g. Bloomberg, ASX, Liveindices, some forums (this one being where the most intelligent discussions are held, of course), some FX information etc. etc.
Is this what other people do?
How important is access, via the internet, to this information to you?
Would you be trading on-line if you didn't have access?

I'm sure I can find this one out somewhere, but can anyone tell me how long individual traders have been able to trade through platforms like ASB and Direct Broking? Was the only other option before this to go through a sharebroker?

Am also trawling around for info on algorithmic trading/bots - have got a bit so far, but if anyone has any pointers to any great resources, would be appreciated.

Thanks very much for reading this far … and an even bigger thank you if you are taking the time to leave a reply.