A limitation, of course, is that to access the Internet you have to be physically located at a client computer that is directly connected to the Internet. He or she will be able to provide you with information regarding access to Internet services and the software and hardware required. Although these are not the only methods available to connect to the Internet, they are the most common methods and provide a relatively cheap alternative to some of the more exotic and expensive methods. The first on-line content provider, Compuserve, was founded in 1979. Now, you can choose from a number of providers including Delphi, Prodigy, Genie, Apple's eWorld, Byte Magazine's BIX, and the very popular America Online.
Providers charge varying rates for access.
She provides a good introduction of how to go on-line with a commercial service provider, although some of the information is outdated. Unlike the commercial on-line content providers discussed above, these Internet access providers provide a gateway to Internet services only , and provide no independent content of their own. However, once you are connected, you can access all Internet and WWW services. The main drawback is because these are modem-based connections they can not transfer data as fast as direct connections. Services provided may differ significantly.