Just a few days ago, Google unveiled the Google App Engine, which opens the doors to developers looking to create and host Web applications using Google's infrastructure. The apps are hosted by Google, and any developers looking to make the next big Web service are invited to apply for the beta and design away. One of those new apps to use the Google App Engine was HuddleChat, a Web collaboration tool that looked conspicuously like Campfire, a licensed product from 37 Signals. The only difference was that HuddleChat was free.
appscout973:http://www.appscout.com/2008/04/the_rise_and_fall_of_huddlecha_1.php
HuddleChat was created by a pair of Google developers looking for a way to collaborate via chat. Whether they were planning to duplicate the bulk of the functionality of Campfire is up for debate, but when they opened up HuddleChat to the world for free, the folks at 37 Signals took notice. They were concerned that HuddleChat was a bit too similar to Campfire, with the notable difference that HuddleChat allowed as many people into a room as the organizer chose. Campfire, on the other hand, is free for up to four users in a room, but if you want to bring more people into the room or create a room with more users, you have to pay a fee.
All the most critical features in Campfire existed in Huddlechat. You could upload documents to the room for everyone to see and review, use it for simple chat, add images and other files, and even save your discussion and all its attached documentation as a transcript. Additionally, you could publish the URL of ...