Navigate menus: Open menus by holding (or pressing) Alt and pressing the underlined letter in a menu. Once open, you can let go of Alt and just tap the underlined letter of your selection. Arrow keys also navigate open menus, and Enter makes selections. Even hit Control-Esc--or the Windows Key--to open the Start Menu.

Swap and close applications: Hold Alt, and tap Tab to swap between open windows. Alt-Shift-Tab moves backwards, in case you overshoot your target. Ctrl-Shift-Esc opens the Task Manager. Close windows with Alt-F4. And Windows Key-M minimizes all open windows.

Drive the desktop: Hold Alt and double-click an item to view its properties. Shift-Delete removes an item without the interim step of sitting in the Recycle Bin. Begin searching for an item with F3. Make a duplicate file at a new location by holding Ctrl while you drag and drop it in the new place. Or hold Ctrl-Shift while moving an item to create a shortcut in the new location.