Somebody could have solved it fairly easy with all the data they supplied. Most, however, aren't going to want to waste their time doing so, unless of course they really want the job.
Personally I am thankful that Jeff decoded it for us who could do so but are too busy to do so. I'm curious but I don't have the time to decode it myself.
I'm sure that given the parameters: algorithm name, password, and results, it is a fairly trivial puzzle to break, just time consuming.
Every time I see a "puzzle" in a programmer ad, I feel they are not getting the desired effect. The only effect they should want is to get the ad noticed. They should not want the effect of weeding out potential applicants that simply don't want to invest the time to solve the puzzle. If its for a company that you know you want to work for, maybe you'll invest the time. But for a startup you don't know about, its asking potential applicants to invest in an unknown.
Really? I think everyone reading Hacker News is capable of searching Google and pasting the text into the first result. I apologize to this startup for the hordes of tech illiterate people I am sending to gum up their application process. ;)
notes: during the interview, we will ask you to complete an assignment in a technology you will not have seen before