Amazon says its latest Prime Day was a huge success. “Prime Day sales grew by more than 60 percent from the same 30-hour window in 2016, with a ‘record number’ of Prime members shopping across 13 countries,” CNBC reports, citing the tech giant’s figures. It added that "‘tens of millions of Prime members rang up purchases during the event, up more than 50 percent from last year’s shorter Prime Day.”

The Verge surveys the various actions being taken by tech giants in support of net neutrality on this “day of action.” The show of force comes five days ahead of the first deadline for comments on the FCC’s planned rollback of the rules, it notes. “Technology giants like Amazon, Spotify, Reddit, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and many others are rallying,” it writes.

Facebook is dropping the retail price of its Oculus Rift VR headsets for the second time this year. “As part of the ‘Summer of Rift’ sales promotion Oculus is having, the VR headset and a pair of Touch controllers are down to a combined $399, a $200 drop,” CNet reports. “That undercuts the HTC Vive, and matches the entry-level price of the controller-less PlayStation VR headset.”

Microsoft is spearheading a $10 billion program to provide rural America with broadband internet. “The plan, which calls for corporate and government cash, relies on nascent television ‘white-space’ technology, which sends internet data over unused broadcast frequencies set aside for television channels,” The Seattle Times reports.

Rulings on online speech in courts around the world are created what Wired calls a “splinternet.” According to the post: “The trend of courts applying country-specific social media laws worldwide could radically change what is allowed to be on the internet, setting a troubling precedent.” Imagining the worst, Wired asks: “What happens to the global internet when countries with different cultures have sharply diverging definitions of what is acceptable online speech?”

Amazon is quietly hiring smart-home gadget specialists to give free Alexa consultations and fee-based product installations, sources tell Recode. “The new offering, which has already rolled out in seven markets without much fanfare, is aimed at helping customers set up a ‘smart home,’” it writes. Not quite top secret, however, the new initiative already has its own web page.

Microsoft on Monday unveiled a new way for businesses to buy Office and Windows. “Microsoft 365 Enterprise combines Office 365 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Microsoft’s Enterprise Mobility and Security features into a single subscription,” The Verge reports. “Microsoft is also offering Microsoft 365 Business, which … includes Office 365 Business Premium alongside security and management features for Office apps and Windows 10 devices.”

Google just unveiled Blocks -- a new app for drawing 3D objects in virtual reality environments. “It’s like Oculus Story Studio’s Quill and Google's own Tilt Brush … except it leads to blocky, Lego-esque final products instead of painterly illustrations,” Engadget writes. Also of note, “The company says Blocks is simple enough that you can use it even if you have no prior 3D modeling experience.”

Apple’s bug bounty program -- which rewards hackers for reporting bugs -- apparently isn’t going so well. “For now, security researchers who have been invited by Apple to submit high-value bugs through the program prefer to keep the bugs for themselves,” Motherboard reports. As such, there exists “no public evidence that hackers have claimed any bug bounties.”

Stateside, Amazon now boasts 85 million Prime members, according to fresh analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). If accurate, that’s up 35% year-over-year. The growth it important for Amazon because, as GeekWire points out: “Prime members … end up spending $1,300 per year on average with the site, compared to $700 for non-members.”