google inc-cl a (GOOG*) Snapshot

Australian doctor who sued Google for defamation over an auto-complete search suggestion that he believed had cost him clients has withdrawn his case. The suit, filed in January by Dr. Guy Hingston in the US district court in California, claimed that when one types Guy Hin. into Google the words 'Guy Hingston bankrupt' appear in the auto-complete. He claimed this was defamatory as he was not bankrupt. Dr. Hingston was seeking at least USD 75,000 in damages plus court costs for the 'significant harm and economic loss' caused by the matter.

Google has settled a shareholder lawsuit to clear the way for a long-delayed split of the Internet search leader's stock. The agreement announced on June 17, 2013 resolves allegations that the company's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin engineered the stock split in a way that unfairly benefits them and shortchanges the rest of the company's shareholders. The split calls for a new class of stock with no voting power to be issued for each share of an existing category of voting stock. The settlement will require company to compensate owners of the new class of if stock if it's worth less than the existing class of stock after one year of trading.

Raven Industries Inc. announced it is involved in a pilot project with Google designed to provide high-speed wireless Internet accessibility to rural, remote and underserved areas of the world. Google plans to use Raven-designed and developed high-tech balloons as part of its new project for balloon-powered Internet access, Project Loon. Raven Aerostar has been working for several months in close collaboration with Google on the design and development of this technology innovation. While the program is still in its early stages, a successful trial began this week in New Zealand involving 30 balloons provided by Raven Aerostar providing Internet connectivity to an area covering nearly 10,000 square kilometers. The balloons are designed to be 60 feet tall and fly at an altitude of 66,000 feet. The teams designed sophisticated technology that can control the path of the balloons as they move through the sky. This technology moves the balloons up and down in the stratosphere so they can sail on the wind traveling in the right speed and direction. This, along with software developed by Google for managing a fleet of balloons, is a significant step in turning balloons into a viable platform for providing Internet access to rural and remote areas.