Week 102 – NR – Microsoft Broadband, Prime Day, Uber - Yandex, Facebook VR

Once again, there's no Question of the Week episode this week, but here's our roundup of the major news of the week. We start with Microsoft's push to expand access to broadband in the rural United States through the use of wireless technology running in white spaces spectrum. The second item is Amazon's third annual Prime Day and what it's likely to mean for the company. Third, we discuss Uber's capitulation in the Russian ride sharing business and its decision to merge its operations there with those of Yandex, the dominant market player. And lastly, we talk about the report from Bloomberg that Facebook's Oculus is working on a standalone VR headset for next year. As usual, the show notes below include links to all these stories on Tech Narratives. News stories we covered (Tech Narratives links unless otherwise stated): • Microsoft broadband plans: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/11/★-microsoft-announces-plan-to-help-provide-broadband-in-rural-america/ • Amazon Prime Day: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/12/★-amazons-third-prime-day-grows-60-again-echo-devices-the-big-sellers/ • Uber and Yandex: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/13/★-uber-joins-forces-with-yandex-in-russian-ride-sharing-market/ • Facebook VR headset: https://www.technarratives.com/2017/07/13/★-facebook-reportedly-working-on-a-200-standalone-oculus-vr-headset-for-2018/ You can also find the Beyond Devices Podcast on iTunes (itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/beyon…ast/id1002197313), in the Overcast app (overcast.fm/itunes1002197313/be…odcast/id1002197313), or in your podcast app of choice. As ever, we welcome your feedback via Twitter (@jandawson / @aaronmiller), the website (podcast.beyonddevic.es), or email ([email protected]).