Ask HN: Optical Computing

I just recently read

http://www.sciencetimes.com/tags/optical-computing

and it states that "supercomputers" based on photons are already in the works by IBM and Intel. Anyone around here from said companies who can share some details?

I am personally excited about light-based computing components and can't wait to see it happen. So my questions are: is all of this true? Can we expect light-based computers in the consumer market in a few years? What will be different, apart from all the advantages of raw processing power and less energy consumption?