dial-up accountA dial-up account is an indirect method of connecting to the WWW. This allows a person with a computer and a modem to dial in to a network service provider, such as America On-Line or CompuServe, and connect to the Internet.
The advantage of a dial-up account is that it doesn't give you more than you need. Most network users do not need a machine that is actually a part of the network; such users want to access information and services, and not necessarily provide them. A network provider will insure that software is updated and will give its users the tools with which to surf the net. The disadvantage of a dial-up account is that the provider dictates what tools its users may use, and large providers in particular, tend to lag behind the rest of the networld in their use of new tools.
Some providers, such as America On-Line, allocate space for their users to "publish" on the WWW. So an AOL user who wants to set up web pages with information about his interests, can put this information into the space allowed him by his service provider.