a shell account is simply having an user account at some *nix server... u mostly connect with telnet (or ssh) to the server, enter usr and pwd and voila! u have a command shell on the server... the great thing about shell accounts is of course that everything u do on ur shell wont use any of urs cpu's power, just the server ur connected to will feel it (that's why *nix r0x!)... the common most used feature on shell accounts is IRC and compilers... personally i use shell accounts for using IRC when i'm not at home... it's just important to remember that the server is monitoring ur every move, so don't try anything stupid when on a free public shell account... (the feds could be watching too, hehe)

visit http://www.shellyeah.org that's my favorite for when i need to connect to irc... (it uses epic ircII)

PEACE!