Dial-up Internet connections may be hyperspace's version of out-of-style hand-me-downs. People who still use a dial-up connection to go on the Internet are now a solid minority.

Far more people now use a high-speed connection -- either cable or DSL from a phone company.

"Sometimes I don't want to even go on," said Jeanne Coppola, a dial-up user. "I don't want to bother going on because it takes forever. It's very frustrating."

It takes Coppola a couple minutes before she can get a connection, and even then, going from one site to another is painfully slow.

Consumer Reports' Rosalind Tordesillas said each services offers different advantages. A Consumer Reports' survey of 26,000 subscribers found, in general, cable customers were happier with the speed of their connection than most DSL subscribers.

The main advantage with DSL is that it tends to be less expensive.

"You have to be careful with DSL because providers do offer different plans with different speeds at different prices," said Tordesillas. "So if you go for the cheapest plan, you might be getting a speed that's only a few times faster than dial-up."

Rates also may jump after an introductory period with both types of high-speed services, so it is important to check your contract carefully.

You may be reluctant to switch to a high-speed connection because of the hassle of changing your e-mail address, but Consumer Reports said many companies allow you to keep an e-mail-only account for a low fee.

This is true of several services, including AOL, MSN, Earthlink and AT&T. However, Consumer Reports said these companies don't advertise the e-mail-only option and encourages you to ask about it.