Windows: The Windows taskbar autohide feature is controlled with your mouse. If you prefer to use your keyboard, Taskbar Control lets you hide and unhide the taskbar with a hotkey.

iPad: We're fans ofActions, the iPad app that allows you to use your iPad as a hotkey menu for your computer. Those hotkeys are getting a little more useful with the introduction of Flows, a system where you can chain together actions.

Windows: Super Sleep is a system tray app that puts your computer to sleep with a key command and keeps it from waking up until you enter another. Whether you want a little extra security, or you're just tired of your computer waking up every time you accidentally jiggle the mouse, this app can help.

Mac: We love Quicksilver, the great Mac app launcher that does so much more than launching. Thanks to a feature called Triggers, you can turn almost any action or script into a keyboard shortcut. That now includes switching AirPlay sources on the fly.

iPad: If you're looking to extend your keyboard's reach a little, Actions for iPad is an app that allows you to set up all kinds of actions to control your computer from your iPad. Essentially, it turns your iPad into something like AutoHotKey, but with boxes instead of keyboard shortcuts.

There are few things more aggravating than trying to watch a video when its audio is about one second too slow. Here's a quick fix for the problem in VLC.

Hotkeys can save you a lot of time, especially when they're customised to do your specific bidding. Although there are many ways to add custom global keyboard shortcuts to OS X, Quicksilver is the best thanks to its speed and versatility.

Windows: reSizer is a tiny utility that moves, resizes, repositions and tweaks the appearance of open applications and windows with keyboard commands and hotkeys. As long as the app is running, you don't need to take your hands off the keyboard just to reposition one window next to another or change the transparency of the window on top.