Top Front-End & Tech News This Week: Vue PWA, Async CSS, MobX 3.2, and More

Baidu launches Vue‑based PWA solution LAVAS and adds full Web AR support

At Baidu Create 2017 Web Ecosystem Forum, Baidu announced LAVAS, a Vue‑based progressive web app solution, and said it will fully support Web AR, while also providing deep analysis of MIP architecture, HTTPS, and other technologies.

Global PC shipments fall for the 11th consecutive quarter

Gartner reports Q2 PC shipments dropped 4.3% year‑over‑year to 61.1 million units, the lowest in a decade, citing shortages of DRAM, SSDs and LCD panels that drove prices up and suppressed demand.

Taobao enters the group‑buy market

Taobao has quietly launched a new “拼团” feature allowing buyers to share product links or codes to invite friends to form a group; once the group forms, members enjoy the lowest price in the past 30 days, with the feature effective from July 18 2017 across several categories.

Webpack will soon support asynchronous CSS imports

Tobias Koppers discussed plans to treat CSS like JavaScript in Webpack, enabling dynamic code‑splitting plugins to load CSS asynchronously; the article examines the impact on code splitting and first‑paint, and notes current workarounds using React Universal Component and Webpack Flush Chunks.

MobX 3.2.0 released

The new version adds automatic detection of multiple MobX instances in an application and issues corresponding warnings, improving global state tracking and reaction scheduling.

China’s first smart parking lot for scenic spots goes live

Luoyang Longmen Grottoes, in partnership with Tencent, launched a license‑plate‑recognition parking system that lets visitors enter using WeChat, eliminating ticket queues.

Apple open‑sources Swift Migrator

At WWDC 2017 Apple announced the Swift 4 Migrator is now part of Xcode 9, fully rewritten as a compiler component with equal support for Swift 3 and Swift 4.

Let’s Encrypt to offer wildcard certificates in January 2018

Since its 2015 launch, Let’s Encrypt has secured millions of sites; the upcoming wildcard certificates will allow a single cert to cover unlimited sub‑domains under a root domain, simplifying HTTPS deployment.

Facebook updates its app camera with a new GIF option

The camera feature is being rolled out gradually, adding GIF support for users who have access to the updated interface.

Huawei discusses 5G trials with Indian telecom operators

Huawei is negotiating with Indian carriers to upgrade 4G networks and prepare for 5G standard trials possibly next year, emphasizing the need for readiness as revenue shifts from 4G to 5G.