Daily Video: Microsoft Plans to Offer Various Windows 10 Versions

Today’s topics include new versions of Windows 10, steps toward silicon photonics from IBM, a new smartphone from LG and the future of Google’s self-driving vehicles.

Microsoft is planning to offer various flavors of Windows 10 when the new operating system is released later this year. Tony Prophet, corporate vice president of Windows and Search Marketing at Microsoft, explained that the company will offer different Windows editions that are tailored for various device families and uses.

Targeting consumers, Microsoft will release Windows 10 Home for PCs, tablets and convertible devices that includes the core Windows experience with a smattering of media and entertainment features. It will include the company’s voice-enabled Cortana digital assistant, the new Edge Web browser and Windows Hello face-recognition technology.

IBM recently announced that engineers have taken a significant step forward in the development of silicon photonics after designing and testing a fully integrated wavelength multiplexed silicon photonics chip, which will lead to the development of 100G-bps optical transceivers.

What this means is that the industry will be able to develop faster and more cost-efficient ways to move the rapidly growing amounts of data needed in big data and cloud environments, according to IBM officials.

LG’s new Lancet smartphone is now available through Verizon Wireless, with high-end features and a low $120 price tag. This is the first phone available through Verizon to include Advanced Calling 1.0 capabilities, which means that users get HD-quality sound when using the phone to call other users who have Advanced Calling-compatible devices.

Google on May 15 said it has received the green light to begin testing prototypes of its self-driving vehicles on public roads in Mountain View, Calif., this summer. The cars have been designed from the ground up by Google and are very different from the fleet of modified Lexus self-driving SUVs that the company has been testing for several years.

Google’s prototype vehicles are designed to operate without a steering wheel, accelerator pedal or brake pedal. On-board sensors and software control all operations. The cars will have two seats, space for personal belongings, buttons to start and stop the vehicle, and a screen that displays the route, according to Google.