Ask MetaFilter posts by good in a vacuum

How can I temporarily disable the alt+tab shortcut when I'm playing games in Windows XP?

good in a vacuum — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:35:01 -0800

How can I temporarily disable the alt+tab shortcut when I'm playing games in Windows XP? I've done a lot of Googling and I can't seem to find an easy answer to a problem that I can't imagine is all that uncommon. Ideally, I'd like a lightweight, freeware utility that would live in the system tray and either allow me to manually enable and disable the alt+tab shortcut (and maybe the other Windows keyboard shortcuts), and/or have it disable keyboard shortcuts automatically when certain games are running. When not gaming, I use alt+tab all the time, so permanently disabling it (using the registry or what have you) is not the best option.

The only software I've found is WinLock, but it costs $20 and seems a little bloated for the simple task I'm looking for. Surely someone out there has found a solution to this issue, with all the millions of Windows gamers out there?

Please help me identify this guitar riff from a 60s or 70s song.

good in a vacuum — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:27:06 -0800

Please help me identify this guitar riff (61KB MP3, poorly performed by myself). I believe it's from a song from the 60s or 70s. A friend taught me this many years ago, but I don't know what song it's from. I'd like to learn the rest of it if possible, or at least find the original version to hear what it sounds like. Thanks!

"Mmmmm sounds like my wedding night...."

good in a vacuum — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 13:48:53 -0800

Who is Jon Stewart impersonating when he does his nasal-voiced, tie-knot-adjusting, eyelids-half-open character? If you're a regular (or even casual) watcher of The Daily Show you know the character/impersonation I'm referring to, as Jon seems to do it almost every show. Here's a video clip from April 9th's episode where he does it, starting at about 1:50 remaining (the video's time display counts down instead of up).

The "character" seems so familiar, but is it based on an actual movie/television persona, or comedian? Or is it just sort of an "archetype" personality, like many of his other characters? (e.g. his "Brooklyn tough guy" accent, his faintly-British-accented waxing-nostalgic "Oh those were heady days indeed" character, etc.)

Connecting an XP box to two networks simultaneously

good in a vacuum — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 14:41:51 -0800

I have two Windows XP boxes with their own separate DSL connections, and one wireless router. I'm having trouble connecting these two machines with a wireless connection. Here's a crude diagram of the setup I've got. The two computers have internet access, and computer B can ping the wireless router over the wifi connection. However, it seems to be having trouble "joining" the local network that computer A is on.

I think it is because of some sort of conflict between IP addresses: the ISP to which it is connected (via DSL) has assigned it one IP address, but the wireless router needs to assign it a different IP address (the usual 192.168.1.xxx that Linksys routers default to). My knowledge of networking is admittedly limited, so I'm not sure how computer B can have two IP addresses simultaneously on two different networks, or if this is even possible.

Registering a domain name with corporate links

good in a vacuum — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 03:33:00 -0800

I want to register a domain name that just happens to be the same as the name of a flavour of candy made by a major US company. Should I be worried about future legal issues? For obfuscation's sake let's call the domain name I want berryblast.net (i.e. that's not really it). The major US company already owns berryblast.com. On their candy packaging, there is no little "R" or "TM" or anything next to the words "Berry Blast," nor can I find any legal info regarding this term on their website.

I am planning to use this domain name for a personal website: portfolio for my web design work, photos, possible future blog, etc. My thinking is that since I am not going to be producing candy or anything remotely related to this company's product, I should be safe from any sort of trademark infringement. Or am I walking into a trap?