Part 7. CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET

It used to be that most people bought personal computers to do work-word processing, spreadsheets, databases, the sort of programs that still make up the core of Microsoft Works and Microsoft Office. But today, most people also buy PCs to access the Internet to send and receive email, surf the Web, and chat with other users.

The first step in going online is establishing a connection between your computer and the Internet. To do this, you have to sign up with an Internet service provider (ISP), which, as the name implies, provides your computer with a connection to the Internet.

Depending on what's available in your area, you can choose from two primary types of connections: dial-up or broadband. Dial-up is slower than broadband, but it's also cheaper. If you do a lot of web surfing, it's probably worth a few extra dollars a month to get the faster broadband connection.