Java on a $5 per month server from Digital Ocean
I just recently came across Digital Ocean - "Simple Cloud Hosting". I was impressed by the pricing, much cheaper than my current VPS solution so I've set up an Ubuntu 12.10 server with 512MB, 20GB SSD, for $5 USD per month. Since I've moved almost everything to Google (from self hosted WordPress to Blogger and Google Docs) the only thing I really need a VPS for is to run my Java applications (there still is the option to use AppEngine with Play 1.2.x if it makes sense to use DataStore). But for $5 a month, this means I can use Grails or Play with a relational database - if it performs well enough. Setting up a server with Digital Ocean really is simple. Once you've signed up (check their Twitter posts for a coupon) and added a credit card, your server can be running in minutes. I chose Ubuntu 12.10, and then they have nice and clear instructions on what to do next to secure it: Initial Server Setup with Ubuntu 12.04 How to Set Up a Firewall Using IP T...