"...and the linode one (at least according to ab) outperforms the slicehost."
I wonder if this is true across the board though. I imagine both providers have quite a dynamic collection of machines. New machines are being added, plans likely change over time as cash flow increases, etc. Surely not all their machines have the same performance. Some of that might just be luck of the draw. But I have never worked for a hosting provider before, so I wouldn't know.
There is another reason to choose Linode over Slicehost, Linode has consistently improved their offerings over the years through ram increases, hard drive size, etc while slicehost is now at half the ram and other shortcomings for the same price as a Linode.
I really like linode and have been a customer for a few years now so I might be a bit biased.
I wonder if this is true across the board though. I imagine both providers have quite a dynamic collection of machines. New machines are being added, plans likely change over time as cash flow increases, etc. Surely not all their machines have the same performance. Some of that might just be luck of the draw. But I have never worked for a hosting provider before, so I wouldn't know.