You will hear talk of ISPs and may wonder what it is. Simply - a company that allows your computer access to the World Wide Web by letting your coomputer modem dial into their system.
The big companies such as AOL, MSN, and Earthlink charge a monthly fee for your modem to connect to the Internet. @Home is a service that allows uninterrupted access via modem. Many phone companies such as Bell South give you the choice of modem access or through a permanent connection as ISDN. With these selections, you can easily surf the Internet and usually have access to help 24/7.
Then there are the "free" services such as NetZero, Juno, and Going Platinum. They can offer the services free, but in return you are exposed to even more advertising than the paid services. At least with Going Platinum, you will get your service free and they will pay you to put up with all the ads in hopes that you may one day click on a link or two supporting their sponsors.
You get what you pay for in the virtual world. Free services, apart from advertising overexposure, are notorious for unreliable connections, little customer service, and few access numbers. Paid services also have the same problems, but usually they are not as bad as the free services.
Peak hours present the biggest problems for online connections. This is because several people are trying to compete for what little bandwidth is left. Much like trying to call into a radio show contest when all lines are busy, you will have trouble signing in during peak hours if there are not enough access lines in your area.
Imagine a straw as the Internet connection. On the end of the straw is a funnel where many other straws (symbolizing your modem connection and everyone else's') are trying to make it through the main straw. Your straw and all the other straws are filling the straw tubes with electronic particles that need to push into the main straw. When there are too many particles, everything moves very slowly through the straw. This is what the peak hours are doing and why it is slow or impossible to get online.
If your ISP has many access lines in your area, you can simply dial up another number and see if there is a better connection. If you have a permanent connection, this is not a problem, but you pay dearly for this service, sometimes more than $60/month. And with a permanent connection, without proper safeguards your computer is more vulnerable to hackers and pranksters.
Be sure to shop around when choose your ISP. You might have one now you like and that may be the best thing for you now, but your needs may change. Take advantage of all the free trial services so you can compare and see what they can do for you. If, at the end of the trial it doesn't seem to work for you, you can try something else.
For beginners, AOL is honestly the best. The e-mail will announce it loudly when there is a message for you. You can have instant access to view your online buddies and can send instant messages without having to install a separate program. It has its own browser or you can use it with your IE or Netscape. If you use the AOL browser, you can save your favorite sites by dragging the heart to your favorite folder. That same heart can easily paste a clickable link on your e-mail messages to friends and in chat and instant messages. They also have instant access to categories of your choosing, latest news, and other tidbits of important information as you log on.
Once you get your feet wet, you may want more from your ISP. Or you may choose to stay with your first ISP love. You will hear a lot of snobby comments of how only Internet dunces use AOL. Ignore it! Yes, there are other services out there geared for the more seasoned surfers who don't want to put up with the limited aspects of AOL. But if you don't really care about that and really just want an easy way to get in touch with people in a more "community" atmosphere with easy e-mail, then AOL is great for you. Just like in the real world, there are virtual snobs, too!
Remember, this is your online experience. You are the one to determine what is best for you. You wouldn't let other people determine the house you live in, the car you drive, or the food you eat, so don't let others determine what ISP is the best one for you.
If you wish to shop around for the best ISP for your situation, please consider the following companies. Read what they have to offer, the prices, the services, and if they are available in your area. Feel free to talk to the customer service representatives to answer your questions before making a decision.
