Posts by Ryan Barrett 60 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Aug 2007
The problem only effects people who've filed electronically. To do that you install a (windows) program, which builds and installs your tax return.
Once you're done you can submit it.
With the paper forms you're only sending them the summary information, i.e. a single sheet. The detailed calculations you must keep. I assume it's the same for the electronic program.
So you need to keep a copy of the data, at least until you receive the confirmation letter in the post over the summer. All these users need to do is to login to the software and resubmit.
Now, if you've deleted your tax return information, then it's really your own fault.
..is what Microsoft need to do with the next version of Windows.
Rebuild everything, so they end up with a very streamlined OS with non of the legacy support included.
To provide 'legacy support', they should provide application level virtualisation - so every old application runs in its own virtual machine.
They'd need to aim it at a similar 'recommended' spec as Vista (or less if not using legacy support).
Sure, it'd cost us an extra 2-5gig diskspace for the 'virtual XP', but it'd be worth it.
Spend 5 years doing that and we'll all be happy.
The control scheme in Bioshock may well be perfect for righthanders, however it's completely broken for lefties who're used to playing in their natural position. All because the developers were too lazy to let you switch thumbsticks.
For those gamers (i.e. the 90% of lefties who aim with their left thumb), it's unplayable.
All for the cost of, at worst, adding an option in an ini file.
My love for Halo is that the whole experience on a console is more immersive than that on a PC. It's not ruined by the uberfast movement you get on PCFPS, or the fact that you're playing it behind a desk on a small screen.
Online is a different matter. I prefer Counterstrike on PC, as it's a better and it's easier to miss the annoying kids. However lots of Halo players rate the online highly.
I can also understand the underwhelmed feeling players get playing Halo on Normal/Heroic. Although it's good on those modes, it only comes into its own when played through on Legendary. That is where the quality really shines through.
Maybe I'm the only PCFPS player who enjoys playing with his head more than he enjoys playing with his reaction times?
I guess some people don't know a good FPS when it hits them on the head.
Halo is a very good game, the best in its generation. It makes PC most PC FPS (including HL2) feel like, well, toys. Why? Because it has an incredible sense of realism. When you turn, it's not instant. You don't glide along the ground as you run. You don't have any really crazy weapons. They even included the UI configuration as part of the game experience itself.
The AI in the game is also good. At the highest difficulty level this really comes into its own - not only are the enemies crack shots but they're also bright enough to dive for cover when you've got them under heavy fire.
It's also well balanced - all of the weapons have a use, and the effectiveness changes depending on the difficulty level. Most of the levels (a certain latter one excluded) are also really well designed.
Oh, and unlike some recent console FPS (Bioshock), you have some choice over control schemes - you're not forced to try and play with a controller setup which is impossible for you, just because the developers are too lazy to implement an options screen.
What Halo did was perfected the whole experience and balance. Non of the innovations (clever-seeming enemies, shield-system, realistic controls, excellent balance) are so immediately obvious. They're so right that it feels like they were always there in FPSes.
Before playing Halo I was a massive Half Life fan. I was of the opinion that you couldn't do a shooter on a console. Halo changed that, to the point of reversing my opinion - in the most common configuration the PC really isn't the best format for consoles.(kb/mouse kill atmosphere, and most people don't have their PC in their home cinema system).
..if you think that the PS3 controller is more comfortable than the 360 controller.
The 360 controller fits your hands better, plus the triggers and sticks are both much better. After playing for a couple of hours, you really feel the difference in quality here.
Where it misses out is on the button positioning, which is poor as it's not even slightly symmetrical. However the exact same goes for the PS3 pad.
What you might want to mark the 360 down on is allowing games such as Ghost Recon Advance Warfigher to be release, which criminally omit controller configuration options. Makes the game almost unplayable for at least 10% of gamers (try aiming with your wrong thumb).
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