Yes, I've read the Dynamo paper too and I know all about it's history at Amazon. I give talks on this subject all the time.
My point was that you're being short sighted by taking away the credibility of the author for calling S3 a database, which many people do, and especially did in 2010.
Hey, Jeremy, you used to use Cassandra at reddit, no? I seem to remember it caused you many problems, is that the case? Have you used it/would you recommend it nowadays?
Maybe I should start a StackOverflow thread, or make a mini-site where people can opine about various technology products. I find myself looking for opinions every time I'm thinking of using a new piece of software for my business.
My point was that you're being short sighted by taking away the credibility of the author for calling S3 a database, which many people do, and especially did in 2010.