I think there was in this mail a serious problem of confusion between a
solution by algorithm and a solution by hand. While Thistlethwaite's
algorithm was (at that time) very fast, nobody would consider to use
the solution by hand. The current faster algorithms are not even doable
by hand (unless your backtracking is impeccable).

There was a recent posting, from Jiri Fridrich, which outlined his speed
solution, as follows:

On the other hand Jiri Fridrich's solution is not a solution for computers.
It is only measured in time, not in number of moves. And time is something
extremely machine-dependant.

Is there any chance of Jiri Fridrich posting these algorithms (or perhaps
making them available via FTP)?

But the algorithm was posted. You posted it yourself!