New to this. E-trade account?

[Grog]

I have about $30,000 in some mutual funds but I have a little extra cash right now and I'm thinking about putting $5-10K in an online account. I won't trade very much but I'd like it to be convenient to keep track of and I may want to play a few hunches.

Any general advice? Am I crazy to think this may be a good opportunity to buy in in the right places.

Is E-trade considered the best of the online brokers?

Any advice is appreciated.