While I agree that this is very common and that these basic skills are mandatory in any programmer, I don't think whiteboard interviews are helping very much.

While I agree that this is very common and that these basic skills are mandatory in any programmer, I don't think whiteboard interviews are helping very much. How I like to hire new people is by working with them for an hour or part of the day. Just on one of the candidates toy projects. Within about few minutes you'll learn if this candidate is in fact a programmer. The rest of the time you can get to know the candidate a little better, learn a bit about how they work and how they think. And you don't put the pressure on them for coming up with solutions on the spot.