So why do you think Google has made these changes... these are just some of my thoughts.

1) They are moving toward a "portal".
2) The more real estate they have - on your desk, when you search, your home page - the more "eyes" they have, the more advertising opportunities exist - although for now they say they won't. Recently they eexpanded the number of ads at the top of listings from two to three - there is only so much more they can do there .... unless they choose to fill up the whole page with paid ads . Don't ever forget ... they're in this to make money.

Have a good one.