| Facebook shuts down its award-winning VR studio, the Department of Justice may be investigating Uber and YouTube teams up with big stars. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for May 5, 2017. Also, Darrell Etherington is on vacation for all of next week, so you're going to be stuck with me for a while. 1. Facebook shutters Oculus Story Studio original VR content division Looks like Facebook's Oculus will be focused on funding — rather than creating — virtual reality content. Vice President of Content Jason Rubin announced yesterday that the company will shut down its award-winning cinematic VR division, Oculus Story Studio. Fifty people will be laid off, though they'll be able to apply for other positions in Facebook or Oculus. On the investment side, Rubin said $50 million will be set aside for the company to invest exclusively in non-gaming, interactive content. 
2. U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Uber's controversial 'Greyball' program It looks like there's more trouble around the corner for Uber. Reuters is reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the company's controversial "greyball" program, which helped it sidestep law enforcement officials and regulators. 3. YouTube announces new shows from Ellen Degeneres, Kevin Hart, Katy Perry and more YouTube wrapped up last night's BrandCast event for advertisers by announcing seven new shows. The announcement illustrates how the line between YouTube stars and non-YouTube stars seems to be blurring. 4. Report: Smartphone owners are using 9 apps per day, 30 per month Smartphone users are spending more time in apps than in years past, and now access over 30 apps on a monthly basis, according to a new report from App Annie. And using those apps is a daily habit, as people now launch an average of at least nine apps per day. 5. Facebook deflates filter bubbles by letting you follow topics, not just Pages Facebook gets a lot of flack for just reinforcing your world views in its News Feed, instead of challenging your opinions. That's because you choose exactly which friends and Pages to follow, so liberals might skip Fox News or Breitbart while conservatives avoid The Atlantic and Huffington Post. But Facebook's newest feature could bring a wider range of sources to your News Feeds. 6. Beatie Wolfe brings her new album Raw Space to life with augmented reality Singer-songwriter Beatie Wolfe is using technology to try to recapture some of music's old-school magic and physicality. We got a chance to talk to Wolfe in Bell Labs' anechoic chamber — a room with no echoes. | 
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