Greg Linden does a great job keeping an eye on Google visiting UW and opening an office in Microsoft's backyard. He posits that the move is an attempt to capture excess MS and Amazon talent. I'll also point out that it puts them near the UW CS department, one of the top systems departments in the land. A proximity that'll make it easier for student internships, joint research projects, grad student hiring, faculty consulting, and faculty defections to get off the ground.
Just a thought, but 20 years from now will we be talking about Google as the Xerox Parc for the Web era? With better management to boot?