CentOS vs Debian Stable
 

I'm currently having trouble deciding between either using CentOS or Debian Lenny as my primary workstation. From my experience both are reliable, stable, and supported for a long period of time. However I'm having trouble finding a deciding factor to favor one over the other. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Do you prefer RPM or deb?

debain is a bit newer
RH tends to use some older and "more stable" ( this changes on who you talk to) versions of software .

but is is up to you -- what do YOU like --

Hi,

Try both and choose the one you like. Personally I prefer Debian to CentOS, but I ultimately prefer Slackware.

I don't favor either RPM or deb as they both manage to get the job done. As far as newer software goes from using both it seems CentOS has a bit older software but not in all cases. For example firefox, openoffice and mysql. I need input regarding the security of the two distributions. CentOS has SELinux enabled by default but does that make it any more secure than debian?

Both are great I think
But, Debian has a huge repository and Most all 3rd-party software makers always seem to have a .deb available
though there may be just as many that have rpm's available
Its really a hard question isn't it?

My familiarity is with Debian
But you know Fedora 13 is basically a amped up CentOS with bleeding edge software
probably comparable to squeeze/sid

Its best maybe a preference rather than a comparo
as they are pretty close in this running

It's really down to what you prefer. You aren't paying for support so that's a nonissue.

I think that this decision is pretty much about what is better - DEB or RPM... These two distros are really good.

yes the question
to use deb or not to use deb
to use rpm or not to use rpm

this is like what is better
" Coke " or " Pepsi "
Coffee or tea ...

there IS NO CORRECT ANSWER

Just take the best from each and combine them
thats what I do