scalar
02-09-2003, 04:52 PM
Has anyone found a way to permanently disable the update notifications in RealPlayer 8 Basic, that keep telling you over and over "YOUR PLAYER IS OUT OF DATE!"
Well, duh, I already know that.
Now, I know you can disable the notifications for 30 days, but that isn't good enough. I never ever want to see the notification again!
This has become a longstanding annoyance since I manage some 300 PCs which run "roaming profiles" (this lets you login anywhere, and your Favorites, desktop settings, and files magically appear on whatever PC you happen to be using) and NTFS file-system security (helps keep the machines from needing constant maintenance from people installing Morpheus or keyloggers or spyware, etc.)
RealOne does not work with Windows 2000 multi-user roaming profiles. The program is apparantly intended for a machine which is used by only one single user. It cannot deal with multiple people whose personal documents are stored on a remote server. But I do want people to be able to play real-media, so the choice is RealPlayer 8 since it unobtrusively works just fine with roaming profiles and a secure filesystem.
When I set up a new machine for multiple users, I install RealPlayer 8, and immediately turn off all the annoyances, like StartCenter and auto-open a web link when media is played, etc. But the auto-update notifications cannot be permanently killed. So instead users get the update notice... and if they try to download the update, it fails because they cannot write to the local hard drive. Bleah.
At this point I am thinking I need a hack of some kind:
1. When you disable RealPlayer 8's auto-update for 30 days, it makes a registry key. Can you auto-update that key on a regular basis, so RealPlayer always thinks there are 30 days left?
2. It does the update check by phoning home to real.com. Since we have all web access go through a proxy filter, perhaps I can deny the player from being able to contact real to see if an update is available? (Might be able to do this at home using Proxomitron!)
What are you doing to kill the RP8 update notifications? :)
-Scalar
Well, duh, I already know that.
Now, I know you can disable the notifications for 30 days, but that isn't good enough. I never ever want to see the notification again!
This has become a longstanding annoyance since I manage some 300 PCs which run "roaming profiles" (this lets you login anywhere, and your Favorites, desktop settings, and files magically appear on whatever PC you happen to be using) and NTFS file-system security (helps keep the machines from needing constant maintenance from people installing Morpheus or keyloggers or spyware, etc.)
RealOne does not work with Windows 2000 multi-user roaming profiles. The program is apparantly intended for a machine which is used by only one single user. It cannot deal with multiple people whose personal documents are stored on a remote server. But I do want people to be able to play real-media, so the choice is RealPlayer 8 since it unobtrusively works just fine with roaming profiles and a secure filesystem.
When I set up a new machine for multiple users, I install RealPlayer 8, and immediately turn off all the annoyances, like StartCenter and auto-open a web link when media is played, etc. But the auto-update notifications cannot be permanently killed. So instead users get the update notice... and if they try to download the update, it fails because they cannot write to the local hard drive. Bleah.
At this point I am thinking I need a hack of some kind:
1. When you disable RealPlayer 8's auto-update for 30 days, it makes a registry key. Can you auto-update that key on a regular basis, so RealPlayer always thinks there are 30 days left?
2. It does the update check by phoning home to real.com. Since we have all web access go through a proxy filter, perhaps I can deny the player from being able to contact real to see if an update is available? (Might be able to do this at home using Proxomitron!)
What are you doing to kill the RP8 update notifications? :)
-Scalar