[cypressious]

You're probably thinking about some app not being able to start when some other specific app is running because both were using a GUID copied from SO for implementing single-instance apps.

Possibly the SO question in question: https://stackoverflow.com/a/522874/615306

[izacus]

Yeah, it was Docker for Windows and Razer Synapse 3 who couldn't work together because they both copied the same SO code: https://twitter.com/Foone/status/1229641258370355200 :)

[segfaultbuserr]

I cannot find the source, but the folklore says a Linux kernel developer wrote a USB tutorial with his USB VID/PID, years later, he found he became the manufacturer of all sorts of gadgets he never heard about.

[raverbashing]

It's a good example but I think it's not exactly that. Maybe it was a GUID generation code that would generate the same one for every instance?

> I know it has something to do with some mythical thing called a mutex, rarely can I find someone that bothers to stop and explain what one of these are.

Oh my

[segfaultbuserr]

In this particular example, this is not an ignorant bad question. It's a self-QA by an experienced developer.