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Re:Google launches Compute Engine by lallysingh on Thursday June 28, 2012 @02:56PM (#4173305)
Am I reading this right? $30,000 for the cheapest BMW? I can get a Ford for $12,000!

Sorry, it's just that the "$X for the cheapest Y" argument's always bothered me as a particularly false comparison. I remember the same in the Dell vs Apple arguments a few years ago.

Re:Google launches Compute Engine by ryanhuff on Thursday June 28, 2012 @03:56PM (#4173591)
That's true with differentiated products. Besides price, what is the differentiation of Google's service over AWS?
Re:Google launches Compute Engine by Retric on Thursday June 28, 2012 @05:27PM (#4174034)
They are differentiated by processing power, RAM, etc.

To, continue the RAM analogy Honda created the Acura brand to have higher levels of customer service so their 30,000$ TSX could better compete with BMW's 30,000$ M3. Thus, Google by only offering relatively expensive instances can better target the Amazon's most valuable customers.

Re:Google launches Compute Engine by ryanhuff on Thursday June 28, 2012 @08:28PM (#4174629)
Your Honda versus Acura muddies the comparison. Acura is a luxury brand. The consumer gets clear value-add through additional comfort, improved build quality, better customer service, etc. The differentiation is clear. The target customers are also different.

In the Google/AWS example, additional power/capacity can either be incremental (10% more RAM, etc), or class defining (web server versus super computer). There may be other attributes that stand apart, but everybody seems focused on price and cpu/ram. I don't know AWS well enough to honestly compare, but is Google's service incrementally different, or does it provide a capability that AWS doesn't offer?

Re:Google launches Compute Engine by wutbrodo on Thursday June 28, 2012 @04:54PM (#4173876)
Performance. I believe other comments in this thread have described the way that the lower tiers for the two services don't quite match up.