One thing I hate is a company that wanks about someone’s site design or tool design that looks similar too theirs. Today the folks over 37Signals are crying foul saying the Google HuddleChat application released as an example of what is possible with the Google App Engine is supposedly a dead ringer for the 37Signals Campfire application.
Well guess what folks how complicated is a chat client? Not sure about you, but I have been using Web Based chat clients for years and they all look about the same. It’s not that complicated. Their are only so many ways you can spin something.
The way I look at it is this, if people think stuff they have created is not going to get copied, then they might as well go home. Better bet for the 37Signals Campfire group is to go back to work and add unique features. [ReadWriteWeb]
Ohh and being the Google Application is free is surely to make the 37Signals folks rethink their service offerings. The web is changing and companies have to change with it.