Hacker News Reader

If you can get by with something really lightweight, Amazon has their new EC2 micro instance. It's free for the first year (for new AWS customers), then an on-demand instance runs 2 cents an hour. You can't beat those prices with a stick.

More details about what's included can be found here: "http://aws.amazon.com/free/

View on HN

I am considering that, but shutting down during off hours so as not to run into a bill of >$200 a year (I'm not a new customer).

I am curious about people's experiences with using them for that purpose.

I found using EC2's non-micro instances somehow inconvenient because boot times seemed to be too long for casual use, plus I had to pay extra for a permanent IP. Maybe I'm too lazy, or perhaps the micro instances are more suitable for that purpose?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com