There are several  major considerations ...
  I.  How to connect.
 II.  What to connect to.
III.  What to do with that connection.
 IV.  What Software to use -


  I.  How to connect.
     A. PC's serial port -> modem -> regular telephone line -> DialUp number -> ISP
     B. PC's modem -> regular telephone line -> DialUp number -> ISP
     C. PC's ethernet port -> modem -> regular telephone line -> DialUp number -> ISP
     D. PC's ethernet port -> modem -> DSL telephone line -> ISP
     E. PC's ethernet port -> Router -> modem -> DSL telephone line-> ISP
     F. PC's ethernet port -> modem -> CableTV line -> ISP
     G. PC's ethernet port -> Router -> modem -> CableTV line -> ISP

 II.  What to connect to.
      Whichever physical scheme is employed the connection will be to an ISP, e.g., ..
       A. Earthlink
       B. Verizon
       C. Net Zero
       D. Compuserve
       E. MicrosoftNetwork = MSN
       F. AOL
       G. Juno
      The selection of an ISP amy be limited by the physical connection, e.g.,
        .. if you have a dial phone connection,
             then you can have a choice of nearly ANY of the many ISPs.
        .. if you have a DSL phone connection,
             then you will be limited to those ISPs which have DSL service
              agreements with your local service provider
        .. if you have a CableTV connection,
             then you may be limited to the cable company as your ISP


III.  What to do with that connection.
      The two major tasks are ...
         A. Internet Browsing
         B. E-Mail Management; this comes in 2 flavors ..
              1. Web-Based; features are ...
                  E-Mail accessable from ANY Web-connection World-Wide
                  Server keeps all messages on its system
                     where they are read, managed, filed, deleted
                  Old messages can be read and new ones composed
                     only while connected to the ISP.
                  Servers may be any of several (some free, some for fee), e.g.,
                      yahoo, msn
                  Addresses, e.g, of the form  joeshulnk@yahoo.com

              2. POP3;  features are ...
                  E-Mail accessable only by connection to that ISP
                  Server sends messages to the PC
                     where they are read, managed, filed, deleted
                  Old messages can be read and new ones composed
                     withOUT being connected to the ISP.
                  Servers may be any of several, but usually are the ISP.
                  Addresses, e.g, of the form  joeshulnk@earthlink.net
                    generally 1-5 come free with the ISP account.

 IV.  What Software to use -
      How these are done and the software used will depend on the connection and the ISP;
      and the software to
       e.g., ...
        .. some will require the use of their proprietaty software.
        .. some will offer the use of their proprietaty software,
                 but will support industry-standard software.
        .. some will assume that you want to use industry-standard software, e.g., ..
            for browsing and Web/E-Mail ...
             11.  NetScape Navigator
             12.  MicroSoft InterNet Explorer
             13.  Mozilla
            for POP3/E-Mail ...
             21.  NetScape Communicator
             22.  Microsoft Outlook (and its Express)
             23.  Eudora

Please note if you get a connection of any of the forms
     I.D or -.E or -.F or -.G
that your system will likely be connected to the internet ALL the time that it is on,
whether you are actually using it or not.
As such, you can become the target of hackers who prowl the internet
 just looking to wreak havoc with others; it's a game with them.
In the case of I.F or -.G this is more important because of the protocols involved.
To protect against this, be sure to install either or both ..
   .. a software firewall with the right parameters
   .. a hardware firewall
         a good router with the right parameters will generally
          satisfy this need.

The above is mostly true; there are exception and blends of almost everything.


At my place we've run the following combinations --
     I.A.,  II.A., III.A & -.B.1 & 2,  IV.11 & 12 & 21 & 23
     I.B.,  II.A., III.A & -.B.1 & 2,  IV.11 & 12 & 21
     I.D.,  II.A., III.A & -.B.1 & 2,  IV.11 & 12 & 21 & 23
     I.E.,  II.A., III.A & -.B.1 & 2,  IV.11 & 12 & 21 & 23