Is Street Fighter IV mulitplayer cross-platform

It's just very, very tricky. The rule of thumb is to watch the animation. The common mistake is to try and link too soon - you literally have to wait until the last animation has finished. Also, some moves just don't link. The timing windows in SFIV are really strict - which allows for a real range of skill levels.

Generally speaking, to get long combo strings out, you need to work more with lights and mediums - so you might jump in with HK, standing LP, crouching LK, crouching LK

There are several methods for linking moves:

• Cancelling: Most common, where you break out of a normal by executing a special. Same goes for specials to supers, and supers to ultras.

• Focus Cancel: Where you execute a move but hit the focus attack during it to cancel, generally used in the opening of a special

• Kara Cancel: you start a move, but hit throw during it, allows you to throw from extended range. Have yet to pull this one off

• Plinking: Hitting a descending strength of attack almost simultaneously - i.e hk -> mk

Here's a combo for you to try that should give you a feel for it

Akuma:

Jump in - HK

Standing HP

LK Spinning kick (juggle)

HP Dragon Punch 

* you can focus cancel the Dragon Punch and try a fireball if you're up to it..

You'll get a good six hits out of it.

Option Select refers to combinations of buttons that will result in a different action depending on what the other player is doing. One example is crouching and pressing light kick and light punch, which would perform a throw if you were standing. If the other player tries to throw you while doing this then you will tech the throw but otherwise you will perform a crouching light kick. I don't really know of any other examples or if it is used outside of SF4 but I think it could be.

Hit Confirm is a pretty common fighting game term and relates to combo's where you have time to confirm that you have hit someone with the first attack before continuing with the combo or stopping if it is blocked/misses. This is kind of the opposite to moves which can be cancelled where you will pretty much have to instantaneously perform the next move in the combo for it to work.