The ins and outs of picking an Internet service provider.

Most people who connect to the Internet do so through an Internet service provider, or ISP. The ISP business is intensely competitive right now, with thousands of entities offering their services, from hackers operating out of a spare bedroom to giant telephone companies.

If you're not yet on-line and are looking for an ISP, or if you're dissatisfied with your current ISP, how do you choose?

One way is to investigate various ISPs, comparing performance, reliability, services offered, customer support, future viability, and cost. Another is to take advantage of the testing and experiences of others.

Two computer magazines have recently ranked large ISPs. PC magazine analyzed 13 different …