Web Performance announced the release of two articles describing how the performance of the popular open source application server Tomcat differs on Windows and Linux. The report looked at the performance of Apache Tomcat on identical hardware running the Windows and Linux operating systems. The results show that Linux was able to handle about 32% more users than Windows under identical test conditions.

A reader wants to know about why the Lotus Notes client seems to be MIME-crazy. And we introduce the DominoPower Answer Team.

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Mainsoft and IBM announced an effort to work together to extend the Linux ecosystem by helping Microsoft customers move to Linux. Mainsoft said the new program enables Windows Web and server applications to run on Linux across IBM’s line of eServer platforms supporting IBM WebSphere application servers. Mainsoft, a cross-platform development company, produces the Visual MainWin single source code development solution for .Net and J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition).

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations is warning Internet users to be on the look out for a fraudulent email soliciting money for a survivor of a mine accident in the U.S. last week. The email purports to be written by a doctor at the hospital where the miner is being treated and describes the condition of the survivor and the financial assistance that is needed for a full recovery.

Symantec has released an update to its popular Norton SystemWorks to fix a security problem that could be abused by cybercriminals to hide malicious software. In the PC-tuning application, a feature called the Norton Protected Recycle Bin creates a hidden directory on Windows systems. The feature is meant to help people restore modified or deleted files, but the hidden folder might not be scanned during scheduled or manual virus scans. "This could potentially provide a location for an attacker to hide a malicious file on a computer," Symantec said, although they are not aware of any attempts by hackers to conceal malicious code in the folder.

Sales for servers running the decades-old Unix operating system aren’t growing as quickly as those that run on Microsoft’s Windows and the open-source Linux. But recent maneuvers by large server vendors show that Unix is still a big business–and showing new signs of life. The $16 billion-a-year market, which comprises everything from workstations to high-end servers, has long been a three-way race between Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM. The contest intensified over the last year as Sun tried to keep its footing, HP held its own, and IBM gained.

The number of home-based customer service agents in the U.S. is set to explode over the next three years, according to a recent report. Already capturing the imagination of contact center managers and self-service organizations, thanks to the flexibility they provide, home-based agents are expected to number 300,000 by 2010, nearly triple the current figure of 112,000. Labeled homeshoring by IDC, the practice of allowing contact center agents to work from home is being driven by several factors. Rising gas prices are helping to convince employees to work from home at least part of the time. Escalating housing costs in urban centers are forcing longer commute times and providing further incentive to work from home. A backlash against offshore outsourcing of contact center jobs and relatively stagnant U.S. wages should also contribute to the growth of the number of home-based agents, as companies look for agents familiar with American culture and the English language.

As part of its ongoing effort to lure customers off of IBM’s Lotus Domino and Novell’s Groupwise, and onto the Exchange Server messaging platform, Microsoft is refreshing its suite of Exchange migration tools. The suite, code-named Red Bull, will come out right before the annual Lotusphere conference in late January in Orlando. Red Bull is expected to include a comprehensive revamp of Microsoft’s mail migration tools, and includes an application and analysis analyzer and a recoded Exchange-Notes Connector.

A single methodology can help you build a Service-Oriented Architecture–and then extend the benefits to future development efforts. Part 3 of this three-part series introduces Service-Oriented Unified Process, an adaptable software methodology that uses IBM Rational Unified Process to create an SOA, and then Extreme Programming to build, assemble, and reuse services after your enterprise has built the foundations for a SOA.

Partners of SAP AG have launched 39 new mySAP All-in-One software packages tailored for small and medium-size businesses in specific vertical markets. SAP already offers industry-specific versions of mySAP, with appropriate business processes templates included, but SAP partners can further tailor those versions to produce All-in-One packages adapted to a particular country and industry.