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Re/wind: Kara Swisher Talks With Hillary Clinton, Net Neutrality’s Big Win and More
Kleiner Perkins’ gender discrimination trial got under way in San Francisco, and we said goodbye to Mr. Spock.
Vjeran Pavic for Re/code
A bunch of stuff happened this week in Silicon Valley, including tectonic policy shifts and a high-profile gender discrimination trial ensnaring one of tech’s biggest VC firms. Here’s the skinny:
- The FCC approved new, stricter net neutrality regulations in a 3-2 decision, and here’s what that means for tech (in plain English). This is what one tech policy advocate says should be the next big fight for Internet activists, and here’s a CEO explaining how the FCC’s decision is good news for businesses and entrepreneurs.
- On Tuesday, Re/code co-executive editor Kara Swisher talked with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a conference in Silicon Valley, discussing the NSA, wearables and her (possible) plans to run for president. Here’s the full video and a write-up of the interview.
- This week marked the beginning of the gender discrimination trial pitting plaintiff and former Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Ellen Pao against her old firm. Day one of the trial saw testimony about a work environment reportedly hostile to women, and the following days included reports of corporate events that actively excluded women, extreme pay disparities between men and women and altered performance reviews.
- On Friday, “Star Trek” actor and nerd idol Leonard Nimoy passed away. President Obama released a somber, heartfelt note of admiration and condolences, and we gathered some of Mr. Spock’s best on-screen moments.
- Google is getting ready to compete with Apple in the mobile commerce sector in a big way, as this week it struck an agreement with wireless carriers and snapped up a telecom-supported mobile payments app.
- If you have a smartphone and you want to travel abroad, it’d be nice to be able to get service where you’re going. Say good-bye to cafe hotspot hopping with this guide to getting data service outside the U.S.
- Apple, you’re being put on watch. Ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Sony and Motorola both unveiled powerful smartphones that come at a fraction of the cost of King iPhone. Then again, Apple’s market cap hit close to $775 billion this week, so maybe Apple’s doing just fine. Oh, and if you’re using an AOL screen name to access iTunes, you’re going to need to change that soon.
- The atmosphere of this year’s Code/Media conference in Orange County was one of confusion and worry, says Re/code co-executive editor Walt Mossberg. There’s a lot of money being spent on content, that’s for sure, but few have confidence about what’s coming next for the industry.
- Ron Johnson was the guy who built Apple’s brick and mortar behemoth, and then took an ill-fated turn as the CEO of J.C. Penney. This week Re/code learned that he led a $16 million investment in the women’s clothing retailer Nasty Gal as it looks to expand into the IRL retail world.
- For tech executives, building a diverse workplace is tough, necessary work, made difficult by a lot of structural problems in the tech industry. One Asana engineer wrote for us on ways tech business leaders can make progress on these issues.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
