A team of ex-Googlers, with backing from Y Combinator, the Friendfeed founders and others, have created what might be both the ugliest and most useful group productivity app we've seen. Etherpad , a new product from Appjet , launches this morning, and you must try it out. It's comparable to Google Docs or a wiki, but it's far more useful. You start off by creating a new workspace. You type basic text on numbered lines at will. Then invite someone else in and have them type as well. Each user's edits are highlighted a different color. Changes are made in absolute real time, something even Google hasn't been able to do (Google docs update every fifteen seconds). Users can also chat in the sidebar, save versions and make a few tweaks to the settings like removing line numbers. One great feature optionally highlights Javascript syntax (making this a great way to write code collaboratively) And that's it for now. There is very little bling to the site at this point.