> Putting someone in front of a computer gives them the freedom to google
And what's wrong with that? I use google several times/day to help out with programming problems. This is 2013; if your company doesn't have access to the internet (and thus Google) then people aren't going to want to work for you anyway. The problem is you're trying to set up some kind of artificial situation where you want people to solve a problem without access to readily available information.
Sure, you could have them sit down at a computer that you've unplugged from the network and have them solve your problem, but why bother?
And what's wrong with that? I use google several times/day to help out with programming problems. This is 2013; if your company doesn't have access to the internet (and thus Google) then people aren't going to want to work for you anyway. The problem is you're trying to set up some kind of artificial situation where you want people to solve a problem without access to readily available information.
Sure, you could have them sit down at a computer that you've unplugged from the network and have them solve your problem, but why bother?