PostGIS on Windows 2008 Server in the Cloud

Couple of things I liked about GoGrid

1. Pricing is pretty predictable -- that was one of my fears with moving to a Cloud model. So basically if you have configured a server with 500 MB RAM you can expect to pay probably at most (0.19*0.5*24*30 - ~$70 per month) -- and if you did 2 GIG you would pay ~275/month of course you'd probably not go ala carte if you needed that.
2. Add Server - configure is pretty simple - it has a wizard.
3. The model is not much different from what I would expect from a regular dedicated ISP except I get to build my own server and delete it when I get tired of it without having to call tech support and setup my own load balancing mode. So comfort in a familiar model.

What I didn't like

1. No way to up and down the RAM of my server at least not with current release. Seems you have to destroy it and rebuild it.
2. Similarly currently you get charged if your server exists. You can't just simply take it off-line, you must delete it. Looks like they are planning to change that in their next release.
3. You can't save an image of a server you have worked on for later use. You always have to start with one of their base images.
4. Not quite so annoying - but while their Linux options do come with PostgreSQL -- its 8.1, so I'd just assume if I go that route, just pick an image with no PostgreSQL and Yum my way to happiness.
5. They had MySQL offering on their Windows 2003 but no PostgreSQL. Why the heck not.

Amazon EC2

I hate getting my information from a vendor site, but GoGrids article on Cloud Centers seemed to be a pretty decent one and a fair comparison Cloud Centers in the Sky. Though I still felt confused, but I blame this on my general lack of comprehension. The main thing I got out of it is that Amazon EC2 is very proprietary and GoGrid is built on standards. Being proprietary is not a bad thing per se if it becomes a standard. I think many good things start out life being proprietary.

We have yet to try Amazon EC2 and reading their documentation does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. Sounds like a lot of AM image configure upload this and that, API to figure out IP and this and that. Doesn't sound like their exists a calming wizard to guide me thru the process. The fact that I can't picture in my mind what is going on is also not very comforting. I hate adopting technologies I don't at least partially understand. Am I wrong in saying they do not offer a free trial to test this out?

What I do gather from reading Amazon and even reading GoGrids comparison of themselves against Amazon EC which I like:

1. With Amazon you can save your own custom images -- Amazon Images (AMI) and deploy them at will.
2. You don't get charged for a server if you take a server off-line

1. No free trial or at least we couldn't find it.
2. Seems like a new paradigm -- which I suppose is not bad but just scary.
3. No wizard to help out -- lots more reading involved on how to build AMIs, get generated IP and key and so forth. On the bright-side it seems much of this can be automated if you need a farm os better for large deployments. It must be noted too that GoGrid has a bunch of APIs though we have not had a need for them so can't compare.
4. I still have no clue how things are priced. The idea of servers coming on and off-line by some algorithm is still a bit scary to me. Though I presume you don't have to go with this super Elastic model, though can't be sure without trying. So in the end you can probably have an always on server similar to GoGrid.