Along with a mouse, the keyboard is the core way to interact with your PC, so you’re probably familiar with common shortcuts in Windows like cutting, copying, and pasting.
But did you know there are several shortcuts that go beyond just these basics? From triggering the Xbox Game Bar for screen recordings to opening File Explorer, we take a look at five of these helpful shortcuts that you probably didn’t know about and how they can save you time during your busy day.
At the top of our list is Windows Key + E. This simple keyboard shortcut can save you a lot of time when using Windows. That’s because it triggers the File Explorer. With it, you automatically get a new File Explorer window on top of whatever you’re working on.
No need to scroll down to your Taskbar to open File Explorer, or visit the Start Menu. With Windows 11’s tabbed File Explorer still on the way, this is also a handy way to open new File Explorer sessions, too, as you might already have one open, but need a second to open a reference file or for a paste or copy destination.
Playing a game and things aren’t working right? Is your PC not connecting to your monitor? Or is your PC feeling a bit sluggish? Well, there’s a keyboard shortcut that can help you out before you contact support for help.
With Windows Key + Ctrl + Shift + B, you can reset your graphics driver in Windows. This shortcut will cause your screen to briefly turn black and will eventually reset your GPU drivers. It does this without quitting any of your open apps or games, so you won’t need to worry about data loss.
Are you copying and pasting a lot? If you are, then this keyboard shortcut is for you. With this shortcut, you can get an entire view of your clipboard, and everything you’ve copied. That is, if you’ve turned on clipboard history. You can do this by going to Start > Settings > System > Clipboard, and turning Clipboard history to On.
Once triggered, the next time you hit the Windows Key and V, you’ll get a nice popup box showing you everything you’ve copied in the past. This is useful for folks who might be spending a lot of time on Office documents, or if you’re a student who is working on a research paper. You’ll need not worry about losing that word, line, link, or text that you copied. Windows will remember it for you.
In another way to save you some clicks, there’s Windows Key + T. This shortcut lets you cycle through various apps on the Windows taskbar. When you summon the shortcut, you’ll get a box around a specific app that you have pinned in the Taskbar.
You’ll then be able to hit the Enter button on your keyboard to open that app. In instances where you might already be busy working on something in an app you already have in the foreground, this is a nifty way to open a secondary app without even touching your mouse.
Next is a trick that lets you peek at your Windows desktop. This is meant as an alternative to Windows Key and D where you minimize all open windows and get to go back to your desktop. This trick just briefly moves everything you have open to the background and shows you whatever is on your desktop.
It might be useful for you if you need to look at the desktop for a specific file, look at a folder name, or check to see if something you’re looking for is saved on your desktop.
We’ve just touched on our top 5 keyboard shortcuts that you might not know about, but the list goes on. There are shortcuts for searching with Windows Key + S, Shortcuts for running commands with Windows Key + R, and even for emojis. Microsoft has a full list over on its website, along with app-specific shortcuts for File Explorer, Settings, virtual desktops, and more. There are definitely more ways than one to save your time in Windows with keyboard shortcuts.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.