Jim's collections: June 2019

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

More on suppressing upgrades on Firefox

This is how to set up a cfg file to set preferences before firefox launches. Unknown what versions it works with.

https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX223921

Locking Preferences
Disable   Automatic   Updates
Firefox, by default, will want to automatically update itself. If Firefox is allowed to do this, the updates will go into the personalization layer and thereby bloat the personalization with unnecessary updates. It is best to turn off automatic updates completely. Note these settings are not required if you also use the option to configure a Default Profile and disable updates there.

To disable automatic updates within Firefox, you must create and edit two files. The first file needs to be located under "c:\program files\mozilla firefox\defaults\pref". The file will be called ‘local-settings.js’.

Enter the lines below into the file (The first line is only needed if you do not want to obscure the content
with ROT-13):
pref("general.config.obscure_value",   0);
pref("general.config.filename",   "mozilla.cfg");

The second file needs to be located under "c:\program files\mozilla firefox". The file name must be mozilla.cfg. Add the five lines in as specified below:
//
lockPref("app.update.auto",   false);
lockPref("app.update.enabled",   false);
lockPref("startup.homepage_welcome_url",   "");
lockPref("startup.homepage_override_url",   "");

The first lockPref is to turn off the auto update mechanism. The second lockPref statement is to turn off all other update features. The third lockPref statement is to disable the welcome page. The fourth lockPref is to disable the redirect when a new version is installed. If you do not disable the welcome page and redirect, Firefox will automatically check for a new version using the welcome page and direct users to download the latest version.

Disabling these features does not prevent a user from manually updating Firefox. It simply disables the auto update mechanism.

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Monday, June 17, 2019

write a playable dvd from video input of various types

https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3061/burn-any-video-file-type-to-play-on-a-dvd-player/

To burn your own videos to a DVD, you’ll need a few things to get started:

A DVD burner drive: Most computers that come with any kind of optical drive anymore can probably burn DVDs, but if you don’t already have one, you’ll need to buy a DVD burner. Internal DVD burner drives can cost as little as $20, and external burners are usually only $5-10 more.
A blank DVD: Blank DVDs are pretty cheap, and are even cheaper per disc in spindles. You’ll see two types of blank discs: DVD+R and DVD-R. These two formats are almost identical and almost every drive sold today supports both, so it probably won’t matter which one you get. However, if you have an older DVD burner, check to see whether it supports DVD+R or DVD-R. If it only supports one, but not the other, buy the DVDs that are compatible with your drive. Additionally, you can buy what’s known as dual layer discs if your movies are really big. Single layer discs can store 4.7GB, and dual-layer discs can store 8.5GB. If you can get away with single layer, we recommend it as dual layer discs can occasionally create problems during the burning process, but both should work. Once again, make sure your DVD drive supports dual layer burning before buying those discs.
A video to burn: Whether it’s your own home movies, or a movie you ripped from your own collection, you’ll need a video file (or multiple videos) to burn to your disc. The total size of all the videos you put on the disc must be no higher than 4.7GB (for single layer discs) or 8.5GB (for dual layer discs).
DVD Flick and ImgBurn (Windows): You’ll need two tools to burn your discs on Windows, but fortunately they’re both free. DVD Flick converts your videos to the proper format and creates playable menus, then passes the converted video to ImgBurn to burn it to disc. Go ahead and download them now before you get started.
Burn (macOS): Burn is another free app for macOS that you can use to burn your DVDs. This can convert your videos to the proper format, create a simple menu, and burn it to disc all in one handy package. Download the app now and then scroll down to the Mac section for instructions on how to use it.