next generation

A catchy phrase used to describe the next set of versions of a piece of software or hardware. Presumably the creators of said piece of technology will fix bugs and add new, useful features to it, although this is not always immediately the case.

next generation, adj.
The current generation, incompatible and with updated buzzwords, and optionally vapour. The "next generation":

• doesn't work, because it is woefully underpowered to live up to its empty promises (its proponents invariably explain this away as being due to the desire to "speed marketplace adoption");
• wouldn't be much use even if it worked, as it is more expensive than the current generation;
• doesn't work, due to bugs and ambiguities in the standard;
• doesn't work, due to bugs in the newly-developed implementations, which were rushed;
• doesn't work, as the infrastructure required to support it doesn't exist yet (it will exist in the next generation);
• is essential for life as we know it to continue!

(WARNING: at least one of the above statements was dictated by Marketing).

The "next generation" exists only to give almost-finished systems a bad name. A later "2.01" release will fix the worst problems, and if it gets that far, the "2.1" release may actually be usable!

The next generation is the brand new graphics board with no games (or even stable drivers) out yet. It is the Internet2-enabled cellphone in a world without WAP or WML. It is the first alcohol-powered motorcar in your city. It is the videodisk player which doesn't have any titles. Or the BBC's 1986(?) electronic Domesday Book, which can only be used on a BBC Master microcomputer with a videodisk player which is too expensive to exist. It is the self heating coffee tin, the paper battery (or paper light), the home totally wired with co-ax BNC connections a few months before Ethernet goes CAT-5.

Sometimes, the next generation actually comes to pass. But never with its launch. Sit it out. Either buy the current generation, or wait 2 years and buy that current generation.

A former videogame magazine published for some 6 years by Imagine Media. The magazine first started back when the Playstation (PSOne) was the new kid on the block and everyone wondered if Sony would even be able to manufacture a successful console.

Imagine quietly pulled the plug on the magazine, replacing it with an inferior IMO "PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation 2 Magazine". At its height, NextGen ranked with publications like PCGamer, but slowly slid towards the GamePro end of things (the replacement magazine is definitely for the younger GamePro audience).

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2002-04-05:

I mysteriously began receving PSM: 100% Independent PlayStation 2 Magazine one day instead of NextGen, and after the second month looked into matters. Imagine Media (http://imaginemedia.com) had basically just pulled the plug, hoping no one would notice. I really don't like the PSM magazine and the Next Generation website (http://www.next-generation.com) had also vanished into thin air. Eventually I found the Imagine Media website and found a customer service number. I informed them I did not wish to receive PSM and they agreed to give me a refund. Just a PSA for Next Gen subscribers. I don't recall receiving any sort of clear documentation saying why I was suddenly receiving PSM...I thought it was just a free sample. The PSM magazine customer service number is 1-800-477-0484 (in Canada and US anyways). You might want to check it out if you don't like PSM magazine!