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If you’re looking to see your web browsing pick up its pace a few notches, Google is rolling out with a new service that aims to introduce faster browsing speeds – and, like all of their innovative rollouts, it’s completely free.

It’s called Google Public DNS, and the company has offered a brief explanation of just what DNS does:

“Most of us aren’t familiar with DNS because it’s often handled automatically by our Internet Service Provider (ISP), but it provides an essential function for the web. You could think of it as the switchboard of the Internet, converting easy-to-remember domain names – e.g., www.google.com – into the unique Internet Protocol (IP) numbers – e.g., 74.125.45.100 – that computers use to communicate with one another”

As you see, it’s a means of organizing the numerous locations you visit when venturing into the Worldwide Web. What Google Public DNS means for you – assuming, of course, that you use it – is a faster and more stable alternative to the one offered by your Internet Service Provider.

Some of you may be ambivalent about the use of this, given Google’s questionable history of data collection, but you probably don’t have much to worry about. It’s in Google’s best interests to ensure that you’re comfortable using their services, and this is just another addition to their growing stable of unique web-based tools that improve your life on the net.

If you’re interested in using Google Public DNS and would like instructions on doing so, you can find them here.

If you’ve ever wanted to capture a session of your web browsing, whether it’s for an instructional package you’re compiling or just something to toy around with in your spare time, there’s a neat Firefox extension that lets you do just that without having to install any additional capturing software.

As you might know, Firefox extensions add to your browsing experiencing, sprucing it up with greater functionality and convenience that has contributed to the growing popularity of Mozilla’s browser. This latest extension allows users to record their screen while they browse.

Called CaptureFox, this extension does just that, capturing everything you do while it’s in a state of recording.

After its installation, you’ll notice a new icon sitting on the right-hand side of your status bar (it can also be accessed by hitting CTRL-SHIFT-U or selecting it from the tools menu), the use of which will bring up this extension’s menu.

As you see, there are a fair number of options available, offering users a chance to determine just how high they’d like the quality of recording to be.

You can decide if you’d like to restrict it to just what’s available in your Firefox window, or you can record your entire screen. Along with frame rate, video quality is also adjustable, both of which being options that may affect performance on older machines.

This is a very helpful tool for those who’re making instructional videos, but it’s also a reliable – and, for some, fun — means of keeping an actual history of the time spent on your computer.

Here’s a video that demonstrates just how CaptureFox  works:

If you’re interested in this extension, you can read about and download CaptureFox here.

If you’re a Facebook user who also happens to be a frequent user of Yahoo!, there’s some good news that should pique the interests of those looking for a new way to check the updates of your Facebook page and share news culled from Yahoo! to your Facebook stream.

Announced today, with a planned rollout in the first half of 2010, this comes by way of the Facebook Connect initiative that will be integrated across Yahoo! Servers worldwide. As told by Yahoo!, this effort will serve as a bridge between the over 500 million users of Yahoo! who also participate in the growing community fostered by Facebook.

Services such as Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo News, and Yahoo! Answers will be fully merged with the Facebook service. You’ll be able to update your Facebook status from those various Yahoo! Components or do as you usually do – directly from your Facebook account.

This is just one of many synergistic efforts devised for the express purpose of drawing the internet community closer, taking advantage of its ever-evolving technology to promote the exchange of information and democratize its use.

For Facebook users, we’d like to remind you that Geek Choice has its own Facebook profile, where we make regular updates to keep our clients informed.

You can get more information about Facebook Connect  here.

The Blue Screen of Death is one of the most common errors you can encounter on a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system. Unfortunately, this is also one of the most severe. The frustrating part about the menacing blue screen is that it could point to a number of different problems. Fortunately, these messages include stop error codes that are useful in troubleshooting the error, as is the case with the “Inaccessible Boot Device” stop error.

Inaccessible Boot Device: Common Causes

The inaccessible boot device message represents a blue screen error that has been known to wreak havoc on Windows computers. This particular error has several causes; however, it is typically associated with hardware upgrades and operating system reinstallations. Other common culprits include:

- A boot sector infection caused by a virus.
- Corruption in the Windows registry.
- Corrupted sectors on the hard drive.
- A failed motherboard upgrade.
- Faulty or improperly connected hard drive cable.
- A power surge or outage.
- Physical damage to the hard disk drive.

How to Stop Inaccessible Boot Device Error

Many recommend that you perform a reinstallation of Windows when encountering an inaccessible boot device error. This resolution usually works but there is one big problem: it will erase all of your data.

You should only proceed with this step when you are absolutely sure that you can do without the information contained on the drive. If you perform regular backups of your data, this shouldn’t be a problem. However, you should know that there is always a risk that your data will not be recovered after a drive is either reformatted or receives a fresh Windows installation.

When the Hard Drive Fails

If you suspect that the inaccessible boot device blue screen error is due to a hard drive failure, the most important thing you should know is that there is no need to panic. Even if this is the case, there is still a good chance that the data on the hard drive can be recovered. The first step to troubleshooting this is making sure your hard drive cables are properly connected. After doing so, you can try one of the following methods.

Disconnect the hard drive, reconnect it and try booting the machine again. If you are still presented with the inaccessible boot device error and you have another PC on the network, disconnect your hard drive from the affected machine, and then install it as the slave drive on another computer.

After booting up the alternate PC and reaching the Windows desktop, you should then be able to determine whether the hard drive is working. If it is, the drive should be detected as the drive letter “D” (i.e., if the master drive is “C”).

If it is not detected, it is very likely that your hard drive has failed. If you reach this point, I’m afraid your next course of action should be to utilize a software solution to try to recover your data, seek the aid of a professional technician or install a new hard drive altogether.

Ensuring that the latest drivers are installed on your computer can go quite a distance towards shielding you against the much dreaded “Blue Screen of Death.” Drivers are files  upon which your software and hardware depend, facilitating conflict-free communication between the various programs and devices comprising your computer system.

For streamlined solutions that scan your computer for outdated drivers and provide the necessary updates, you’re usually looking at a fee. However, there is one solution that comes at no expense to you, provided as an absolutely free alternative that effectively assesses and addresses your driver needs.

Called Device Doctor, this utility is very easy to use, limited to just one screen from which you’ll be able to see what drivers are needed and how to obtain them. All you need to do is click the “Begin Scan” button, which will commence with a thorough appraisal of your system’s drivers, ending with a list that shows you which drivers needed to be updated. After the scan is complete, you’re prompted to download each update.

Although the drivers aren’t installed automatically, it’s still fairly straightforward, with very little chance of error. On the page for downloads, you simply click on that driver you want to install and sit back while it updates the driver.

With such a staggering variety of hardware all serving the same essential purpose, the number of drivers is just as varied, requiring you to be attentive to just what it is you’re updating. There is always the slight chance of Device Doctor linking you to an incorrect driver or one that has since been replaced by a more current one. If that happens, they provide a link for you to alert the developers of this utility to the error.

Saving you the time of hunting down each specific driver, this is a great tool that simplifies and hastens the important process of updating your drivers.

You can download Device Doctor here.

If you’re a Comcast broadband customer, you might be aware that the company established a 250gb cap on its users’ expense of bandwidth, in response to the growing demands in this age of digital distribution – multi-media streaming, downloading, etc.  As an complement to that plan, Comcast also announced plans to provide a data usage tracking meter, a tool that users could avail to monitor how much bandwidth they’ve used per month.

While it took nearly a year for them to roll out with the tracker, they’ve followed through on that promise, launching it today on a limited basis.

Beginning in Portland, OR,  the service will begin in a testing stage, with plans to make it available in other markets once the beta has concluded.  The data usage meter tracks three months worth of bandwidth use, with the current month included. Updating every three hours, the meter tracks usage per gigabyte.

Not just restricted to how much bandwidth your computer uses, this tracker will monitor bandwidth use by every device that takes advantage of your network, from your Xbox360 and Ipod Touch to your Roku Player and any other device that depends upon your Comcast broadband service.

If you’re alarmed by this news and wonder if this will adversely impact your service, Comcast assures its customers that only a minority of users will be affected, stressing that this is a measure implemented for that contingent who expends an exorbitant amount of bandwidth each month (i.e. those users who are downloading movies everyday).

Despite what many might consider to be an unfair imposition, Comcast is to be commended for giving its users a way to monitor how close they meet the bandwidth threshold. If you ever have any questions about how best to optimize your network’s use of bandwidth, Geek Choice is here to assist you.