Very heavy users downloading large files(music, video etc)should consider a plan allowing about 1000 MB(called 1 gigabyte)or unlimited downloads. Plans of 100-150 hours per month should suffice 5. Be careful of“ additional charges.” Most plans, regardless of the agreed usage, allow you unlimited access. The ISP will charge ou for any additional time over your agreed limits. Be careful of choosing a plan that is too small as additional charges may soon increase your bill. For example, you may take a plan at $10 for five hours use with an additional $3 for each hour you step over the limit. Another plan may exist for $15 allowing you 50 hours per month If you take the first plan, you may accidentally leave your computer connected when you go to sleep, or get embroiled in a good chat and be unaware of time passing. The charges will soon mount. After seven hours usage, you are paying more than the 50-hour plan If you can afford it consider the slightly larger plan Some ISPs will allow you to convert the plan mid-month if you realise you are overstepping the mark Other ISPs will allow you to rollover the unused hours to the following month. Be sure to check before signing up 6. Free trials: are they worth it? Sometimes you will obtain a plan offering"free trial,, usually for a month. This is an excellent way of testing how much you may like to use the Internet. Be careful of two items Firstly, check how you cancel if you do not like the Internet Do not provide payment information without knowing a telephone number for customer service. (Some ISPs ask for an email to confirm your cancellation, but if you never managed to get email working this is not really a good option Secondly, you will get an email address for everyone to contact you. When you change your ISP, this address will change. Avoid sending out this address to your friends before you know you are happy with the service 7. Should you use a large 11 If you are likely to get frustrated when the Internet is not available, you may need to consider a major supplier. Your ISP's computers may require maintenance and your connection to the Internet will not be available all the time. A major supplier will keep this"down-time"to a minimum but you may experience longer delays with a smaller ISP. There is also the small risk that you can lose email Larger companies will be able to offer a higher quality of service in terms of reliability an connection speed, allowing you to browse faster. Usually, however, they charge more or have more restrictions for their plans Customer support is vital. If you have a problem, you may need to know how to restore access to the Internet. A local supplier or one with a reputable customer support department would be better placed to help you 4.2.2 Web-based database application services This is the newest--and perhaps the most intriguing--type of database product, these are database programs that reside entirely on the servers of an"Application Service Provider"(ASP) company. There are several nonprofit-oriented donor/member database services that have started up in the past year. The one with which were most familiar is e-Tapestry You purchase e-Tapestry as a service rather than as a product. There's no software to purchase or install on your machines--all you need is a Web browser and an Internet connection (56k works fine, al though obviously a high-speed connection is better ) The cost depends on the number of records in your database and starts at FrEe for databases with 1000 records or less For groups with 1000-5000 records, the cost is $99/month. There are a number of additional services that can be added as well. While the program can be customized quite a bit, the fundamental workflow can't be modified as extensively as ebase can permit. However, becaus e- Tapestry is a hosted application, it is upgraded often, and upgrades are automatically and seamlessly rolled out to all usersVery heavy users downloading large files (music, video etc) should consider a plan allowing about 1000 MB (called 1 gigabyte) or unlimited downloads. Plans of 100-150 hours per month should suffice. 5．Be careful of “additional charges.” Most plans, regardless of the agreed usage, allow you unlimited access. The ISP will charge you for any additional time over your agreed limits. Be careful of choosing a plan that is too small, as additional charges may soon increase your bill. For example, you may take a plan at $10 for five hours use with an additional $3 for each hour you step over the limit. Another plan may exist for $15 allowing you 50 hours per month. If you take the first plan, you may accidentally leave your computer connected when you go to sleep, or get embroiled in a good chat and be unaware of time passing. The charges will soon mount. After seven hours usage, you are paying more than the 50-hour plan. If you can afford it, consider the slightly larger plan. Some ISPs will allow you to convert the plan mid-month if you realise you are overstepping the mark. Other ISPs will allow you to rollover the unused hours to the following month. Be sure to check before signing up. 6．Free trials: are they worth it? Sometimes you will obtain a plan offering “free trial”, usually for a month. This is an excellent way of testing how much you may like to use the Internet. Be careful of two items. Firstly, check how you cancel if you do not like the Internet. Do not provide payment information without knowing a telephone number for customer service. (Some ISPs ask for an email to confirm your cancellation, but if you never managed to get email working this is not really a good option.) Secondly, you will get an email address for everyone to contact you. When you change your ISP, this address will change. Avoid sending out this address to your friends before you know you are happy with the service. 7．Should you use a large or small company? If you are likely to get frustrated when the Internet is not available, you may need to consider a major supplier. Your ISP’s computers may require maintenance and your connection to the Internet will not be available all the time. A major supplier will keep this “down-time’’ to a minimum but you may experience longer delays with a smaller ISP. There is also the small risk that you can lose email. Larger companies will be able to offer a higher quality of service in terms of reliability and connection speed, allowing you to browse faster. Usually, however, they charge more or have more restrictions for their plans. Customer support is vital. If you have a problem, you may need to know how to restore access to the Internet. A local supplier or one with a reputable customer support department would be better placed to help you. 4.2.2 Web-based database application services This is the newest--and perhaps the most intriguing--type of database product, these are database programs that reside entirely on the servers of an "Application Service Provider" (ASP) company. There are several nonprofit-oriented donor/member database services that have started up in the past year. The one with which we're most familiar is e-Tapestry. You purchase e-Tapestry as a service rather than as a product. There's no software to purchase or install on your machines--all you need is a Web browser and an Internet connection (56k works fine, although obviously a high-speed connection is better). The cost depends on the number of records in your database, and starts at FREE for databases with 1000 records or less. For groups with 1000-5000 records, the cost is $99/month. There are a number of additional services that can be added as well. While the program can be customized quite a bit, the fundamental workflow can't be modified as extensively as ebase can permit. However, because e-Tapestry is a hosted application, it is upgraded often, and upgrades are automatically and seamlessly rolled out to all users