Major Advance Could Lead to New Innovations in Computing, Communications and Medical Applications Intel announced a scientific breakthrough using standard silicon manufacturing processes to create the world's first continuous wave silicon laser. This technology could help bring low-cost, high-quality lasers and optical devices to mainstream use in computing, communications and medical applications. As reported in today's issue of the journal Nature, Intel researchers have found a way to use the so-called Raman effect and silicon's crystalline structure to amplify light as it passes through it. When infused with light from an external source the experimental chip produces a continuous, high-quality laser beam. While still far from becoming a commercial product, the ability to build a laser from standard silicon could lead to inexpensive optical devices that move data inside and between computers at the speed of light -- ushering in a flood of new applications for high-speed computing. "Fundamentally, we have demonstrated for the first time that standard silicon can be used to build devices that amplify light," said Dr. Mario Paniccia, director, Intel's Photonics Technology Lab. "The use of high-quality photonic devices has been limited because they are expensive to manufacture, assemble and package. This research is a major step toward bringing the benefits of low-cost, high-bandwidth silicon based optical devices to the mass market." Today, every computer has a power supply to drive the chips, hard disc and peripherals. In the future, PCs may also come with a supply for powering tiny lasers, amplifiers and optical interconnects that move terabytes of data around the computer and across networks. In addition, there are special wavelengths of light that are optimal for interactions with human tissue. For example, one type of laser wavelength is useful for working on gums and another one for excavating cavities in teeth. Today, these lasers cost tens of thousands of dollars each, limiting their use. Potential future uses of Intel's breakthrough technology could lead to more affordable medical lasers so that trips to the dentist become easier and less painful for patients. First IP contact center of its kind installed in city gas firm On Feb. 15, 2005 in Seoul, JB City Gas announced it had installed a new IP telephony contact center from Avaya Korea (www.avaya.co.kr), supplier of the famous communication network and service for enterprise use. JB City Gas is not only able to reduce unnecessary waiting time for clients caused by cost inquiries, but also draw up an improvement plan in regard to each customer's needs. Not only that, a one-stop service allows for smooth processing of customers' requests by integrating the phone number of one head office, three branch offices and four A/S centers into one representative phone number (1544-0041), regardless of place. Given such a situation, it is anticipated that JB will be able to provide improved services for customers plus reductions in costs of maintenance and communication since a counselor in an IP call center and an office worker can call each other free of charge by using an IP network.