Apple on Monday announced that its new App Store appeals process, first revealed at WWDC in June, is now live, meaning developers can challenge Apple over whether their app is in fact violating one of its guidelines. In addition to that, Apple says developers can also suggest changes to the App Store guidelines through a form submission on its online developer portal. From a report “For apps that are already on the App Store, bug fixes will no longer be delayed over guideline violations except for those related to legal issues. You’ll instead be able to address guideline violations in your next submission,” reads a note posted to Apple’s developer website. “And now, in addition to appealing decisions about whether an app violates guidelines, you can suggest changes to the guidelines.” These changes were introduced at WWDC on the heels of a rather public feud with software maker Basecamp, the creator of a new email service called Hey. Basecamp openly challenged Apple over whether it could distribute an iOS companion app to its email service without including in-app sign-up options, as Hey costs $99 a year and Basecamp felt it unnecessary to give Apple its standard 30 percent cut of that revenue (although Apple does only take 15 percent of in-app subscription revenue after one year of service). Apple, in response, held up the company’s bug fixes and update capability.

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Source: Slashdot – Apple Says App Store Appeals Process is Now Live, So Developers Can Start Challenging Decisions

China continued its yearslong run of double-digit percentage increases in spending on R&D in 2019, but the nation is likely to fall short of a long-standing goal of increasing R&D expenditures to 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by this year. From a report: But not hitting the target “should not be considered a failure, as China has been increasing its R&D expenditure over the past several decades at a rate higher than GDP growth,” says Cao Cong, a science policy specialist at the University of Nottingham’s Ningbo, China, campus. Total public and private science and technology expenditures in 2019 rose 12.5% over the previous year to 2.21 trillion Chinese yuan ($322 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics reported yesterday. Spending on basic research accounted for 6% of the total; applied research, 11.3%; and development, 82.7%. The spending amounted to 2.23% of GDP, an increase of 0.09 percentage points from the previous year. The 2.5% of GDP by 2020 goal was spelled out in China’s most recent Five Year Plan and in a 15-year Medium- and Long-Term Program for Science and Technology Development. For comparison, the United States spent 2.83% of GDP on R&D in 2018, according to the 5 August Main Science and Technology Indicators of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), which covers 37 of the world’s largest national economies. OECD as a whole spent 2.38% of GDP on R&D in 2018. Israel and South Korea spent 4.9% and 4.5% of GDP, respectively, in 2018.

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Source: Slashdot – China Again Boosts Research and Development Spending By More Than 10%

Lenovo announced the new premium Yoga 7i and Yoga 6 two-in-ones earlier in the month and now it’s pulled the wraps off the top-of-the-line Yoga 9i. The Yoga 9i two-in-one and Yoga 9i Slim laptop (called the IdeaPad 9i Slim in North America) replace the Yoga C940 and Yoga S940 (IdeaPad S940). From a report: Being the most premium of the premium Yoga lineup, the Yoga 9i — available in 14- and 15.6-inch versions — gets all the fun extras and is made from the nicest materials. For 2020’s 14-inch model that includes an optional lid upgrade with black leather bonded to its aluminum chassis. It “begs to be touched,” Lenovo panted. It’ll also have an edge-to-edge glass palm rest with an encased touchpad that uses haptic feedback, allowing for a much larger touchpad area. There’s also a new ultrasonic fingerprint reader that’ll work even if your finger is slightly wet, such as after you wash your hands — which we’re all doing a lot more of these days, right?

The Yoga 9i will also have a new keyboard with “soft-landing dome-design keypads” that promises a more comfortable, bouncier typing experience, which is saying something since the C940’s keyboard was already more comfortable than most. Its updated soundbar hinge will have improved audio, which, like the keyboard, was already pretty great. You can also expect enhancements to everything from screen options to ports (Thunderbolt 4!) to improved cooling to the tip of its included active pen for a better feel when writing on the screen. Most of these features, including the leather cover, carry over to the Lenovo IdeaPad 9i Slim laptop. The IdeaPad also gets a sensor that automatically adjusts its keyboard’s backlight for your room’s lighting conditions as well as a kill switch for its webcam. (The Yoga 9i has a physical privacy shutter for its webcam.) […] The 14-inch Yoga 9i with the metal lid will start at $1,399 or $1,699 for the leather lid. The 15-inch Yoga 9i will start at $1,799. All three are expected in October. The IdeaPad 9i Slim is expected in November starting at $1,599.

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Source: Slashdot – Lenovo Yoga 9i Gets Rid of a Traditional Touchpad and Slaps Leather on Its Lid