You know...the problem with your line of reasoning is as follows...

1. Failing with spaces is more of a problem with specifying the expression. It only takes a little more knowledge of how bash works to avoid that- and it's not any more complicated.

2. Same with names beginning with "-" (and you should have your head examined if you've got anything like that...it's bad mojo in most OSes for that one...)

3. Overwriting is unavoidable- and with the gui tool, it'd have as much of a chance of doing that as the bash script. Or...you'll be answering yes/no questions out the wazoo on that.

4. Is fine.

This is a textbook case of someone coming up with a hypothetical to try to prove their point- and they missed the point of it all trying to do it.

Fallacy number 365 - Presuming that because it's on the desktop or in a quicklaunch slot you're going to use it often.

It's there because much of the user base until recently were unafraid of things bash and it was there for personal preference. I don't use it all that often, haven't for a long time now on Linux.

And you don't even need command line trickery in Ubuntu or Mint at least. It's got gui click ISO mount support.

You know... Calling someone "deniers" is quite simply not science at all- it's just another form of religion when you start down that path.

I guess that this is a YMMV thing. I've not had to dig more than 2-3 pages in and often it's still on the first page or the first link when I place a query. I guess it's more in how you frame your searches.

Facebook? Really? Faceplant's nothing more than a batch of people doing a "dig-me" thing on the Internet- and I'm one of it's users.

I wouldn't have even thought about looking for plumbers via Faceplant. Most of my associates (and I can heartily assure you that most of them aren't as computer savvy as I am...) on Facebook wouldn't have thought of looking for a plumber by asking a question of their friends like that. They'd have let their fingers do the walking in the yellow pages, meatspace or online. Sorry, not buying it.

That's not wholly the case. With something like Google and Bing, you can find a LOT more than just what new smartphone to buy.

Amazon doesn't have information on things like Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) systems, including the deployed systems. Wikipedia might have a good encyclopedic entry on the subject, but you won't find the scientific/engineering journals on the subject or the fact that the first system stored 300MW of power for 6 hours and that the second one stored 110 MW of energy for 26.

Google or Bing will have that information findable. The main reason there is an impression that it's "fading"- it's because it's difficult to find information because people have forgotten (or never knew...) how to ask the right questions for answers- and you have to frame queries with a bit of care to drive the two top search engines to their fullest.

Yes and no. If they know the pics with specificity (Not just "child porn" or similar...) then they can compel her to divulge the password. Failing that, they have no right to demand it- and claiming the Fifth is legit and they're barred from doing anything. Placing her in contempt of court in that context is a violation of the Fifth Amendment and immediately voids the case. If they can't define what they're specifically looking for in detail, then they have no valid warrant under the Fourth, which means the case should just implode at that point. Just because they seized an encrypted HD doesn't mean anything unless the contents were specifically named and demanding that she turn over an unencrypted copy is not allowed under the Fifth Amendment as that's testimony- and you're not required to incriminate yourself with your own testimony. They have to crack it themselves if they can't prove they know what's on there. And if they make something up...well...that makes it a real mess that voids the case as well (Nice, violate the Fourth Amendment to get them to void their Fifth Amendment protections...)

It's a razor's edge the Court walks when it does this sort of thing.

There's limitations to how long the Judge can actually do this. If served with a Writ of Habeas Corpus, he HAS to justify their position in a manner consistent with the Fourth and Fifth Amendments- failing to do so, he HAS to drop it on the spot and let you go, per the Fifth Amendment. What he/she'd face if she failed to do so...it's very likely to be nastier than they think they're being by doing this. (Color of Law violations carry heavy penalties...)

Ah, but the thing is... Unless they've got specifics on what's on the hard drive to get a warrant for the same specific information, they can't indefinitely compel her (Fifth Amendment) and at some point they can file a Habeas Corpus filing (Fifth Amendment) which they'll have to clearly justify themselves (Incl. the Judge) on keeping her on "contempt". If she "remembers" the password and the files in question per the warrant aren't on the HD, it's a Fourth Amendment violation at that point- which costs the case on the spot as well.

But...you've got to know your rights regarding the Bill of Rights and know that you have to be willing to resist the authority you're being presented with.