So, what do you actually use the scissors for? You have wire cutters on the thing already... I've been driving myself nuts trying to find a multi-tool that does what I want: Small form factor (as in, shorter than my ipod) Pliers Heavy, solid blade. Phillips and flat screwdriver head Bottle opener And that's it. I could live without the bottle opener. Something like the Skeletool in the size of the Micra. But when you go down to the keychain size, suddenly it's back to "5 million tools in one" and none of them work well. I found some off-brand crap Appalachian Trail stuff at lowes in exactly the right form factor, but I don't really want to buy yet another knife made out of cheap steel.

Well, the point is that they aren't testing whether you can reverse a string or not. They're testing whether you can come up with an algorithm to solve an arbitrary problem. String reverse is kind of a lame example when compared to what you'll ever actually have to do, but it's a reasonable test of whether you can think through iteration and loops. Also, it's not just programmers who have this problem, it's really any skilled profession that doesn't have a meaningful certification. I've seen it interviewing carpenters. 3D graphic artists are the worst, because everyone who's a little artistic and has pirated a copy of 3d Studio max thinks they can apply for the job. We had I kid you not ten different applications whose portfolio consistent of the same 3D Studio tutorial.