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While being a release that has seen Microsoft regain much of the faith it lost with recent installments of its operating system, Windows 7 arrived with many long adored features either missing or peculiarly buried in such a way as to make their use unnecessarily tedious.

For those of you pining for the Quick Launch toolbar, it’s still available, but you’ll need to perform a few quick tweaks to get it working.

The contents of your Quick Launch folder can be found at this location: %appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick launch. Very easily, this tool will transform those shortcuts into a list that effectively acts as your Quick Launch toolbar.

Called JumpLaunch, this application is a free tool that adds a blue orb to your Windows 7 bar. Right-clicking on the orb will bring a list of applications stored in your Quick Launch list. When left-clicking on the same orb, you’re able to add or remove programs from this list, customizing it to your preferences.

Windows 7 is an excellent addition to Microsoft’s stable of programs, but it’s not perfect. At Geek Choice, we’ll continue to offer you tips that aid you in getting the most out of this new operating system.

You can download JumpLaunch here.

With much of our time spent online, it’s a certainty that many of the services we use – Facebook, Twitter, Photobucket, Gmail, etc. – house information that we’d like to keep secure. No system is infallible, crashes happening on even the most stable of networks, and we’d like to know that our data is protected in the event of such catastrophic occurrences.

Last month, one of my blog pieces touched upon a service called Backupify, a useful service that backs up the data resulting from your use of various online services – such as the aforementioned ones. As I noted in my initial writeup about Backupify, there is a subscription fee, Twitter backups being the only storage available for free.

However, offering what could be described as somewhat of a holiday gesture, Backupify is temporarily rescinding its pay structure. Available until January 31, 2010, Backupify has just announced that their service will provide unlimited backup storage for all accounts for free. This is an attempt to not only attract new users, but provide users who utilized just its free service an opportunity to try out its premium offerings.

Once this free offer expires, Backupify plans to introduce a new pay structure, one that replaces its exclusive pricing scheme for one that offers free limited backups for all of the services it provides storage for. However, if you’re one of those who takes advantage of this free offer now, you will maintain your free account for the duration of your use.

The services that Backupify currently supports are:

• Gmail
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Flickr
• Photobucket
• Google Docs
• Zoho
• Basecamp
• WordPress
• Blogger
• Hotmail
• Delicious
• FriendFeed

If you’re looking for the peace of mind that online backups provide, take advantage of this free offer now.

While Internet Explorer and Firefox are the two most popular browsing clients used to navigate the web, Google’s made some headway with a relatively new entry that’s been a recipient of high marks for its features. Called Chrome, Google’s web browser has been praised for its speed and functionality.

If you’re a web developer, you’re always mindful of the speed your website moves at, knowing that even the slightest delay could determine whether or not a new visitor will return.

Aiding developers to that end, Google has released Speed Tracer, a Chrome extension that helps developers gauge just what might be slowing things down – Java execution, specifically.

While this is probably of no use to your average internet user, it’s certainly something worth looking into if you’re someone who either has a website or is in the process of developing one.

The video below offers a demonstration of how Speed Tracer works:

Chrome can be downloaded from this site, while the Speed Tracer extension can be found here.

Announced a couple of weeks ago, Google has recently rolled out with Google Public DNS, which is a said to increase the speed at which you browse the internet. Completely free, Google’s service replaces your Internet Service Provider’s DNS with theirs.

If you’re someone that feels uneasy when messing with the settings associated with your router and internet connection, you might be interested in an extremely easy-to-use application that gives you an opportunity to test Google’s Public DNS and determine whether its benefit outweighs whatever hassles you might fear from switching over to it.

It’s called the Google DNS Helper, and its purpose is to allow users a chance to test out multiple public DNS servers to determine which ones introduce a noticeable improvement over the speed of your current DNS server.

Using it is simple, with just two options for users to worry about, saving them the stress of having to wrangle with their network settings. With just one click, this application switches you over to Google Public DNS, saving your current DNS settings before doing so. You’re now able to browse the web with your new DNS settings, having only to click the other button if you ever want to return to your original configuration.

If you’re interested in trying out Google’s DNS solution, this is a convenient – and, more important, safe – way of doing so if you’re someone who’s wary of tinkering with your router and network.

Grab it here.

As an habitual user of Google’s impressive array of services, I’ve only had one grievance, finding it frustrating to have to check every Google service for any new activity. In the past, keeping notified of such activity required the installation of an app for every service, which can prove to be somewhat tiring. Released today, there is now a free utility that consolidates notifications for every Google service you’re subscribed to, acting as a hub of alerts that spares you the hassle of having to use distinct notification apps for each service. 

Called Googsystray, this convenient tool monitors Gmail, Google Voice, Calendar, Reader, and Wave – settling right in your system tray, where it’ll update you whenever new activity occurs.

Upon its installation, the utility allows you to determine which service you’d like it to keep you apprised of and how you’d like it to respond. For instance, once you’ve received a new email, you can toggle the application to play a sound or even commence with a preset command. Once alerted, an icon corresponding to the service in question will also pop-up; should you right-click on the icon, it’ll expound upon the notification, giving you more information about what new content has arrived.

This is particularly useful if you’re a frequent user of each of these services. Working on both Windows and Linux Operating Systems, this is a free download.

You can grab it here.

The latest iteration of Firefox 3.6 is now available, delivering over a hundred bug patches that address stability, security and performance. For further information, the details of its release can be read here. This is one step closer to the official release of the new version of Firefox, with Mozilla promising less crashes and faster performance.

You can download the fifth beta for Firefox 3.6 here.

On a shared computer, the administrator may not wish to see the computer shut off by those authorized to use it. This is particularly true in an office, where productivity can be hindered when employees arriving to work find themselves having to wait as the computer boots up rather than being able to immediately log back into their computer console.

In Windows 7, using the Local Group Policy Editor, those functions can be removed by hiding the “Shutdown” and “Restart” buttons from the users.

*It should be noted that this feature is not available in personal and home versions of Windows 7.

To begin, we’ll click on the “Start” button and type “gpedit.msc” – hit Enter.

Once the Local Group Policy Editor window is open, take the following route:

User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Start Menu and Task Bar

Once there, select Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate commands.

Once selected, it’ll prompt you to enable the service, which is done by clicking on “Apply” and “OK”

After this is completed, return to the desktop. You’ll notice, when reviewing your options in the Start menu, the only ones available are “Log Off,” “Switch User,” and “Lock.”

Once implemented, the omission of those features is immediately apparent, with no possible means – outside of unplugging it – of a user turning their computer off.

With the advent of url shorteners, many of the links we visit – especially if we’re constantly visiting sites linked from Twitter and similar services – are masked by shortened links that hide the actual URL. Normally, we’re visiting links posted by those we trust, which sees many of us casually click on the link without giving it much thought. But there’s always the off chance that a link we select redirects us to a site that we’d rather not visit.

With a new day comes a new Firefox extension introduced for the purpose of alleviating the headaches that often come with browsing the web. Called Verify Redirect, this Firefox extension runs in the background, highlighting the original URL whenever you click on a shortened link. While the page is in the process of loading, you’re shown the actual web address, with Verify Redirect prompting you to accept or deny the link. If it’s a link you visit continually, you’re given the option of instructing Verify Redirect not to alert you each time you visit the site.

This is particularly helpful for those of you who visit a lot of sites but remain mindful of just where you’re headed, keeping you on your toes as you walk about the precarious margins of the information superhighway.

You can download Verify Redirect here.

If you regularly patronize McDonalds, finding yourself a fan of their Big Macs, you might be interested in knowing that the company is poised to introduce WiFi for its customers. Starting in January, McDonalds will be delivering free WiFi access for visitors to its establishments, pairing their famous fast food with a perk that catapults them into the information age.

Previously coming at an expense of $2.95 for 2 hours of service, it’ll become free in January, making customers more likely to grab their usual breakfast staples and sit down for a bit to tap away on their wireless devices. This service is being facilitated by AT&T.

Just make sure not to spill your coffee on your laptop. If that happens, you may need to give us a call.

If you’re a frequent user of Firefox, you’ve probably become well aware of how much memory the program begins consuming after extended use, a problem that persists with even the latest version. While this browser is deservedly praised for it’s the functionality and customizability (made possible by the numerous extensions that improve the Firefox experience), its drain on memory – an issue is known to also occur on systems with plenty of memory – can become a nuisance that sees the performance of the browser begin to falter.

Called Memory Fox, this extension optimizes Firefox’ use of your memory, allocating your ram so as to ensure optimal performance when browsing the web. The extension adheres to preset limits set by the user, its functionality coming into focus once the browser’s expense of ram reaches the designated threshold. After the barrier’s been met, the memory is cleared, allowing the browser to function unimpeded.

Use of this extension requires both a Windows OS and Firefox 3. After you’ve downloaded the extension, restart Firefox and activate Memory Fox from the Tools button in the toolbar. Once installed, the setup is available for your optimization needs.

While this may make only a negligible difference for those computers with an insane amount of ram, it’s sure to impart a visible impact to systems that often find their use of Firefox burdensome where RAM’s concerned.

You can download Memory Fox here.