In Stockholm they say they won't hold stuff in the instructions, but if you do have something that you can't enter with, they will. I guess they just don't want to be inundated with stuff.
I don't know about U.S. embassy in London, but in St Petersburg (Russia) they kept your items in a numbered box at the entrance. That was about 3 months ago.
What you say might be true, but you're not making an argument so much as you are just name calling. If you don't find anything in the argument to respond to, it's better to not respond to it rather than fill HN with such vitriol.
The policy to not allow electronic devices, and expanding what this means to ludicrous levels might not be the smartest policy, but the point of this article is basically "I get bored without my toys".
I try to go on a longer vacation every year, and I never bring my laptop or go online when I'm gone. There are a lot of people I interact with over the internet on a daily basis, but it really is ok to let go for a while. If you stay off the internet for two weeks, they sky won't fall down, you won't have missed anything, and you really don't need to update your facebook status or twitter some crap every day. The author of this article should try it sometime, unless the extreme hardship of being disconnected for a few hours has scarred him for good...
Calling something "pointless, rambling navel gazing" is hardly vitriol. It's barely even mild contempt. There also is no argument to respond to, which I think was the parent's point.
Having done this for my L1 visa, and jettisoned the USB key I forgot was on my key ring, I'm still puzzled by the author.
All the documentation is very upfront about this procedure. I think it should be obvious to anyone vaguely technical the range of small bugs that can be made now.
As such removing disambiguation is pretty sensible plan. Rather than airport security which makes a pretense of banning "dangerous" items at least in this case they can say you were warned and there is no room for misinterpretation.
The U.S. Consul services offices in Shanghai have not allowed electronic devices for at least the last 5 years. They have lockers to store thing in prior to entering the waiting area. Its not something that bothers me but I do find it unnecessary.
