Anyways, I think your site is much better... thanks for sharing. This is cool.
My site wasn't the first, http://www.globegenie.com was. I liked the concept and built an improved version.
My only point was that if you are going to take an existing idea, build something better.
In any case, even if he did, I can think of a number of very good reasons why building something similar to another already executed idea is still a worthwhile endeavor. For example, maybe he wanted a new portfolio piece or maybe he wanted to learn some new technologies.
I like both. Yours is nicer though.