Microsoft announced today that Windows XP Service Pack 3 is complete and has been released to manufacturing. By April 29, Microsoft expects XP SP3 to be available online via Windows Update. Automatic Updates will begin delivering SP3 to computers in about two months (ie, 'early summer' according to the TechNet post where Microsoft made the announcement.)

Since XP SP3 is a collection of previously-released updates, you won't notice many changes after installing it. However, collecting the updates into one service pack makes it easier to setup new XP systems.

Learning a few keyboard shortcuts is one of the easiest things you can do to make better use of your time on the computer. Instead of taking your hand off the keyboard, moving the mouse and clicking a couple times, and then putting your hand back on the keyboard, you can use keyboard shortcuts to perform common actions. I've put together a list of Windows keyboard shortcuts worth knowing. Don't worry about trying to learn them all; instead, pick a few that use you can use often.

Is there a keyboard shortcut you find useful that I didn't list? Submit it or other any Windows tip for inclusion on this site.

If you have multiple computers running Windows Vista on your home network, it's easy to share your media (music, pictures, etc) with the other computers. Sharing the media lets you enjoy it from any of the computers on the network. In a video about sharing media using Media Player in Vista, Don Schechter shows you how.

Learn more:

• Getting Started with Windows Media Player 11
• Share Media Files With Windows Media Player
• Add media to the Windows Media Player 11 library

When you need to attach a file to an email or open it, do you ever struggle to find the right file? Perhaps your filenames aren't as clear as they could be, and it's difficult to identify the right one. Or maybe you are looking for a picture, and you need to see it to know it's the right one.

Regardless of why it's difficult to spot the right file, one way you can make it a little easier is to use tools in the Open dialog boxes that are often overlooked. With them, you can change how files are displayed so you can see a thumbnail of each, sort files, or use the Preview Pane to see the file without opening it.