title: What is the difference between Windows Azure and traditional Windows hosting?
body: <p>My knowledge of Windows Azure is limited to the several videos I watched on Microsoft's web site. Aside from a few new buzzwords, I'm not seeing how this platform differentiates from traditional web hosts that have existed for many years. Aside from the unique billing model (e.g. "storage transactions per month"), what differentiates Azure from traditional web hosts, such as <a href="http://www.discountasp.net" rel="nofollow noreferrer">discountasp.net</a>, in terms of the actual service provided?</p>