Monday, July 16, 2001		Latest in IT world

A teenage computer hacker who stole credit card information from thousands of persons and used Bill Gates' card details to send Viagra to the Microsoft chief escaped a jail sentence in a Welsh court. Judge Gareth Davies ruled that Raphael Gray, 19, who was arrested in an FBI and Welsh police swoop on his home village of Clynderwen, west Wales, in March last year should instead undergo psychiatric treatment. "He has a community rehabilitation order for three years, with psychiatric treatment," a Swansea Crown Court official said. The court heard that Gray, the self-styled "Saint of e-commerce" had hacked into Web sites from his bedroom and displayed credit card details of thousands of persons to show how bad computer security was. Gray had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of computer fraud although he had not gained financially from his crimes. He used Gates’ details to have the male anti-impotence drug Viagra sent to the world's richest man's address. Afterwards, he told reporters: "I would do it all again but another time I would choose to ensure that I acted legally."

PC makers can alter Windows

Microsoft Corp. said it is changing how it licenses its Windows operating system to computer makers, allowing them to remove its Web browser and make other changes. The move was in response to a ruling last month by a US appeals court that upheld a finding that Microsoft held a monopoly in PC operating systems and that some of its licensing practices were illegal, Microsoft said. "This announcement does not take the place of settlement discussions with the government parties or any future steps in the legal process; however, we wanted to take immediate steps in light of the court's ruling," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said. "We are hopeful that we can work with the government parties on the issues that remain after the court's ruling," Ballmer added.

In what could be the final nail in the coffin for Napster, a federal judge ordered the song-swap service not to resume operations until it can prove that it is not violating music industry copyrights. Napster, which has been inoperative for almost two weeks as engineers fix technical glitches with its new song filtering system, was given the order during a closed-door meeting by Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, sources close to the situation said. Patel told the service not to resume operations until the new filters were 100 per cent effective — a demand that could be hard to fulfill, the sources said. Napster's foes in the music industry were quick to proclaim the end of the line for the legally embattled service.

Czech police said they might charge a woman who used her mobile phone on a Czech Airlines flight and disrupted the plane's communication with ground control. A police spokeswoman said the incident happened on a domestic flight from Prague to the eastern city of Ostrava on June 22. The ATR propeller plane landed safely at its destination. "She used the mobile phone during the flight despite a warning by a stewardess and the captain," the spokeswoman for Ostrava police said. "The use of the phone disrupted navigation devices...and communication between the plane and the tower." The foreign woman could be jailed for up to a year if convicted. The police spokeswoman declined to identify her or her nationality. — Reuters