[thenewkid]

DigitalOcean is nothing special, don't know why they get so much hype.

Droplets are just another marketing gimmick, another layer of abstraction which developers don't really need.

If you want a bare box to play with, try the companies at LowEndBox.com.

[neurotech1]

It's not hype. They are cheap ($5/m), reasonably reliable, and trusted. I can't say I'd trust most of the companies on Low End Box.

Disclaimer: I have droplets with DigitalOcean in SF datacenter. I've experienced the occasional network issue, but its generally a quite stable network.