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HuddleChat: It's like Campfire, but free
HuddleChat is a web-based mult-user chat application built with Google's App Engine. And it's almost identical to Campfire, a chat application from 37signals. But while Campfire provides free chat rooms for up to 4 users, and charges a fee for rooms with more users, HuddleChat lets an unlimited number of users chat for free.
The interface is pretty slick and offers a bunch of features that make it ideal for virtual team meetings. Chats are automatically archived, and you can upload files like images which will be displayed in the chat. They're also saved on a Transcripts & Files page. You can invite any user by sending out an email from the site, or you can share the room's URL. Best of all, users can sign into a chat room using their Google ID. So if you already have a Gmail, Google Calendar, or Picasa account you don't need to sign up for a new account to use HuddleChat.
Predictably, the folks at 37signals are less than pleased with HuddleChat.
Update: Astute blogger Emily Price noticed that there's at least one important Campfire feature missing from HuddleChat: Search. Which is kind of funny when you consider the fact that HuddleChat is hosted by Google and was developed by two Google employees.
Update 2: HuddleChat is dead.
[via Web Worker Daily]
Comments
6
Subscribe to commentsBrentApr 8th 2008 5:07PM
I can't "Sign-in with my Google Account". After entering my password I get sent to an error page:
Google Accounts
"The page you requested is invalid."
ToddApr 8th 2008 5:07PM
That Tweet is priceless. Marked as favorite.
NateApr 8th 2008 7:55PM
I don't understand the anger. It's a beautiful app, and it's free....
ipodrulzApr 8th 2008 9:31PM
It looks amazing, and no matter how badly I wanna use it... I can't actually find a use for it.
rao.murlidharApr 9th 2008 7:36AM
Sad that it is now closed. Anyways it was much better than campfire.
RobApr 9th 2008 7:39AM
"Hi, a couple of our colleagues wrote Huddle Chat in their spare time as a sample application for other developers to demonstrate the power and flexibility of Google App Engine. We've heard some complaints from the developer community about it and because of that we've decided to take it down. If you'd like to see more sample applications written on Google App Engine please check out our documentation and our App Gallery.
Thanks,
The Google App Engine Team"