Linked List: April 9, 2021

Friday, 9 April 2021

Samsung’s ‘iTest’ Lets You Try a Simulated Galaxy Device on Your iPhone ★

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

The iTest website is being advertised in New Zealand, according to a MacRumors reader who came across the feature. Visiting the iTest website on an iPhone prompts users to install a web app to the Home screen.

From there, tapping the app launches into a simulated Galaxy smartphone home screen complete with a range of apps and settings options. You can open the Galaxy Store, apply Themes, and even access the messages and phone apps.

This is a fun idea, and it’s pretty well done. Seems like the sort of thing that has to be done as a web app, though — seems doubtful Apple would approve a real app for the App Store that does this.

Google’s Project Zero Exposed Zero-Day Bugs Being Exploited by Western Counterterrorism Agencies ★

Patrick Howell O’Neill, writing for MIT Technology Review:

Google found the hacking group exploiting 11 zero-day vulnerabilities in just nine months, a high number of exploits over a short period. Software that was attacked included the Safari browser on iPhones but also many Google products, including the Chrome browser on Android phones and Windows computers. […]

Instead of focusing on who was behind and targeted by a specific operation, Google decided to take broader action for everyone. The justification was that even if a Western government was the one exploiting those vulnerabilities today, it will eventually be used by others, and so the right choice is always to fix the flaw today.

I don’t think this was an easy decision, but I think it was the right call. Project Zero’s purpose is to find vulnerabilities and report them to get them fixed, period.

Amazon Workers Defeat Union Effort in Alabama ★

Karen Weise and Michael Corkery, reporting for The New York Times:

Amazon appeared to beat back the most significant labor drive in its history on Friday, when an initial tally showed that workers at its giant warehouse in Alabama had voted decisively against forming a union.

Workers cast 1,798 votes against a union, giving Amazon enough to emphatically defeat the effort. Ballots in favor of a union trailed at 738, less than 30 percent of the votes tallied, according to a preliminary count. The results will still need to be certified by federal officials.

The lopsided outcome at the 6,000-person warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., dealt a crushing blow to labor organizers, Democrats and their allies at a time when conditions have been ripe for unions to make advances.

I’m not surprised this unionization drive failed, but I’m a little surprised the vote was so lopsided.