I understood that part of the attack also happened from international visitors to Baidu. Would a MITM of the Great Firewall still have worked then or would it at least have been partially mitigated?

You're out of date. Samba 4 (although at RC now) does Active Directory. Don't spread FUD please.

Well it's a bit sad to see all the oldtimers go (sorry 'taco :) ). With you guys there is only a bit of nostalgia left. Not many remember the days of using lynx to access /. due to having IRQ issues with mouse and modem: it was damn unreadable, so not much has changed in that regard :-).

I just try to picture you together with Steve on a bench together with Achmed the Dead Terrorist screaming 'I kill you'

virtual(a): existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact; "a virtual dependence on charity"; "a virtual revolution"; "virtual reality"

So are you actually looking for the best way to create a team that does not exist but does produce an outcome? I think you are already there :-)

Or are you looking for software to support the communication between teammembers in such a way that they really feel to be a part of a team? Then I would look for software that is already integrated with the way of working of your team members (msn, skype, email, subversion) etc

I know for a fact that a lot of banks have their account transfers for Businesses on 3.5" floppy disks. They can't even repair the machines anymore that write the disks

However, the very expensive treatment a smoker receives in hospital, the effect it has on second hand smokers (possibly also receiving treatment) and the loss of productivity of smokers negates easily any cost savings by moving over to the other side.

Although I think will right I also think it won't take off in any company. Putting it in a artificial boundary of an organization actually defeats the whole idea of social networking. My social network is not limited to my colleagues so why would I participate on a "platform" which is limiting my social network to those boundaries while I can find all my colleagues and others outside?

And while I am at it, when will we get that in the end social media is not about the functionality it provides but about the possible depth of the relationships?