[raverbashing]

"AWS is pretty much running very close to at cost (super razor-thin margins"

Compare the Amazon price with other VPSs.

It's a different service, yes, but it's not even close, not even if you reserve the instances (it's been a while since I did the math though)

But for small scale, I recommend strongly against AWS

[nasalgoat]

Isn't the opposite true? It's fine for under 10 instances when you're first starting up and still flexible, but over that you're better off going colo?

[dmourati]

I've described AWS as a great "deal" for very small and for very large customers. For people in the middle, not so much.

[Xorlev]

Also depends on what you consider a deal -- the lower tier hardware works for a Wordpress blog, but not necessarily for much more. For the price, a good Linode or even a dedicated server will get you more bang for the buck.