Is Google Stifling Competition?; LinkedIn's New Office; Skyline Solar's Defense Contract

Every week, Mountain View makes news with technology developments, discoveries and sometimes controversies.

In the weekly "Bits and Bytes" column we’ll relay the past week’s news highlights from our backyard giants, start-ups and small businesses alike.

Does Google stifle its competition? The Federal Trade Commission has begun to investigate whether Google+ has violated antitrust laws because its products appear at the top of search results. Yet Google says it's simply trying to make information more personally relevant and help users find out what their contacts say about a particular topic. Wonder what they are saying about this.

On another battlefront, Google and Facebook are fending off censorship demands from the Indian government and courts. The two tech giants argue that they are legally required to monitor their websites and remove the content regulators take objection with—complaints of a lawsuit currently taking place in the Delhi High Court.

LinkedIn has staked out the location of its newest office space: One Montgomery Tower building in downtown San Francisco. Last week, LinkedIn announced it would expand to 57,000 square feet, a decision lauded by Mayor Ed Lee. The property's size can consume an entire block in the city's financial district.

Advanced Placement high school students have one more test they can easily prepare for online, thanks to . The digital test prep publisher just launched their AP Environmental Science guide, which “explores each aspect of the exam in incredible detail.”

Mark your calendars, Intuit stockholders: the company will hold its annual stockholder meeting Jan. 19 at 8 a.m. CEO and President Brad Smith will present the company’s 2011 fiscal year results, and discuss strategies for growth in the coming year.

Two military bases, Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California and Fort Bliss in Texas, will soon have 100-kilowatt solar power plants by Skyline Solar. The company, which broke ground on the project Tuesday, Jan. 17, received a $1.85 million Department of Defence contract awarded under an "Environmental Security Technology Certification Program," which aims to identify technologies that can be used widely.